Willian admission brings relief for Maurizio Sarri but Callum Hudson-Odoi situation remains a sticking point

A superb goal from Willian papered over the cracks as well as reminding Chelsea why Barcelona are keen to sign him even though he is now in the 30-plus bracket.

The Brazilian declared afterwards that he intended to stay, which was music to the ears of Maurizio Sarri, who has enough trouble in other departments right now.

A lack of a striker he can trust means Eden Hazard is operating under duress as a false nine, and with Cesc Fabregas having finally departed there is no-one on the bench to replace Jorginho if he has a stinker, which he did in this one.

Sarri hopes those problems can be solved in the coming days by levering Juventus loanee Gonzalo Higuain from AC Milan and bringing in either Nicolo Barella of Cagliari or Zenit St Petersburg’s Leandro Paredes in midfield.

Then there is the headache of how to handle precocious youth talent in the shape of winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is wanted by Bayern Munich and sorely tempted to try his luck in the Bundesliga, and fellow 18-year-old Ethan Ampadu.

Sarri declared that he believes Hudson-Odoi, who was given the final 10 minutes against Newcastle, is only a matter of weeks away from being considered a fully-fledged first-teamer. The Italian also vowed to work hard to give midfielder Ampadu similar status.

“The bench is not really very short,” Sarri said. “It is short only in one position at the moment because I think Odoi is improving. Odoi in one or two months will be at the same level as the other players so I hope the same for Ampadu.

“Of course, playing as a central midfielder in our team is not easy. A player who plays in that position usually touches about 120 or 130 balls so we need a specialist there. We need to try and try and try in training. But I think he is able to do it.”

Sarri admitted that the wasteful Jorginho would have been hooked at half time had Fabregas been on the bench.

“After 20 minutes he lost a lot of balls,” he said. “Maybe he was tired, I don’t know. But if Fabregas was on the bench in the second half he would have been on the pitch instead of Jorginho.”

Newcastle dropped into the bottom three before kick-off but did not look like a side incapable of saving itself, although Rafa Benitez once again bemoaned a lack of cutting edge in the final third.

Owner Mike Ashley was present to see Pedro give Chelsea an early lead with a lofted finish from David Luiz’s ball over the top and Ciaran Clark head an equaliser from a corner before half time.

Willian, set up by Hazard, won it in the 57th minute with a curling effort that eluded three defenders as well as the goalkeeper, and although the visitors soldiered on they couldn’t fashion a clear opportunity to level again.

“We have been close against the top sides, apart from maybe Liverpool,” said Benitez, who was unloved as Chelsea manager despite winning the Europa League in 2013. “The final third is where we have to spend the money. The big clubs are paying £40 or 50 million for players who make the difference.

“When you work so hard, and one player makes the difference like Willian or Pedro, there isn’t much you can do.

“But if we work like we did today and play with the same passion and intensity then I believe we will stay up. We will have chances to get points against a lot of teams and we’ll win against some teams, especially in the bottom half of the table.”