Half-time: Newcastle 0 Chelsea 0

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Chelsea were unable to make the most of their early dominance in an entertaining first half.

Willian came closest to breaking the deadlock for the Premier League leaders, curling a shot just pass the post from the edge of the box when he should have scored.

Chelsea, with the more defensively minded John Mikel Obi selected to replace the suspended Nemanja Matic in midfield, looked composed and confident from the outset.

Willian sent a fizzing low effort narrowly wide after a sweet move and the excellent Eden Hazard curled a shot well wide following an adventurous run from the halfway line.

The hosts did threaten on the break on a couple of occasions, with their best chance seeing Thibaut Courtois block Jack Colback’s close-range strike.

But the Blues continued to control possession and create the better chances.

Gary Cahill headed over from a corner, Willian was just wide with another strike after a stunning Hazard run, and Costa had a couple of decent strikes on goal.

But although the Blues, who are looking to set a club record of 24 matches unbeaten in all competitions, were on top, Newcastle improved in the latter stages.

Colback had another shot off target while Oscar almost scored in the final seconds with a stunning overhead kick.

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