Steve Bruce has identified Chelsea forward Timo Werner as the major threat in the Thomas Tuchel’s side during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

The Germany international and Olivier Giroud scored the two goals Chelsea needed to claim the three points at stake.

Werner was involved heavily in the build-up to Giroud’s opener as he ended his own goal drought by scoring the second inside the first half with a close-range finish.

The £170,000-a-week (Spotrac) German operated in a left-sided attacking position and asked numerous questions when driving inside with pace, directness and accuracy.

Bruce acknowledged in his post-match interview that Werner really hurt Newcastle:

“We knew how they would set up, but they caused us problems, with Werner in particular in that inside left position. We found it a bit of a struggle first half,” Bruce said, as quoted by Sky Sports.

Going back to Jesse Lingard and he hit back at being dropped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite being the ‘fittest’ player at Manchester United last season.

The Red Devils boss dropped the midfielder, 28, ahead of football’s pandemic shutdown and gave him little game time despite the midfielder’s pleas.

He told BT Sport: “During the lockdown I started recapping a lot of games to see where I did well, getting that fire in my belly and drive again to go and kick on because it would have been easy for me to fall off and take the easy option out.

“But a person like me who’s been through a lot and knows the game, I can’t just give it up like and I’ll always go out with a fight.

“I came back one of the strongest and fittest after the lockdown and I didn’t get my chance that I was waiting on.

“But the whole time I was there and not playing I was doing extra training and keeping on top of my fitness for when the time was right.

“So for me it’s about working hard and staying dedicated, and I went back to basics.”

Photo Credit: WestHam/Twitter

Chelsea could be closing in on signing Paris Saint-Germain youngster Kays Ruiz-Atil, a wonderkid dubbed as the club’s “new Lionel Messi.”

After appointing Thomas Tuchel as the club’s new manager, Chelsea is believed to be working on bringing Ruiz-Atil to Stamford Bridge as well, French outlet Foot Mercato reported.

According to the report, the teenager found opportunities hard to come by under PSG’s new coach Mauricio Pochettino and has expressed his desire to play under Tuchel at Chelsea, having been handed his senior team debut by the German manager.

Ruiz-Atil’s future at PSG has become uncertain despite his potential, and the report adds that “a meeting” between his representatives and the Blues is expected to take place soon.

The 18-year-old hasn’t made a single first-team appearance since Pochettino’s arrival, and with his contract set to expire in July, the outlet revealed that is he likely to opt-out.

Tuchel was evidently the only manager who has trusted Ruiz-Atil with all his senior appearances at PSG came under the rein of the former Tottenham boss.

Prior to being linked to Chelsea, Ruiz-Atil has already set the record straight with the reigning Ligue 1 champions regarding what he wants for his career.

On his Instagram post last year, the midfield sensation hinted at the possibility of taking his talents elsewhere by divulging his current situation at PSG to the public.

According to Ruiz-Atil, should he feel that PSG doesn’t think he’s ready to take on bigger challenges, he would happy to leave.

“If PSG doesn’t want me to train with the pros, there are other clubs. It will not end at PSG,” Ruiz-Atil wrote as cited by ibtimes.com.

Even more interesting, Ruiz-Atil has already earned comparisons to six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi at an early age.

Apart from both being honed at the famed “La Masia” academy, the pair also seems to have an identical playing style.

Like Messi, Ruiz-Atil is also a crafty ballhandler who can also utilize both his feet. He also somewhat resembles the Barcelona captain’s savvy playmaking skills.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner were on the scoresheet as record-signing Kepa Arrizabalaga made his first Premier League appearance since October 17.

And Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for two of his struggling stars.

He said: “It’s helped me that someone can scream at me in German – Timo’s a really good guy, has a good idea of the football we want to play and when we have more and more training sessions with him we will get better and better.

‘I am very happy Kepa continued with a second clean sheet in a row, to let him build up his rhythm and confidence. Edou will be in goal from now on because he recovered physically and mentally.

“Edouard is the No 1 and that is clear. This was clear before the game and it stays like this.”

Thomas Tuchel claims Edouard Mendy remains Chelsea’s No1 despite dropping the ace for Kepa Arrizabalaga against Newcastle.

Tuchel said: “Edouard is the No1, this is clear

“This was clear before the game and this stays like this.

“I’m happy Kepa continued with a second clean sheet.

“It was a moment to let him feel the rhythm, to get his confidence up.

“Edouard will be in goal from now on, he recovered physically and mentally and right now he’s No1.”

Arsenal are investigating a possible breach of Covid regulations by captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The striker appeared to break lockdown rules to get a new tattoo.

He was pictured showing off the inking on the Instagram account of Spanish tattoo artist Alejandro Nicolas Bernal.

And the footage was posted just days after Aubameyang had been given time off by the club to visit his ill mother in France.

Under UK Government regulations, all mobile and static tattoo parlours must remain closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

But neither Aubameyang nor Barcelona-based Bernal were wearing a mask during the session to decorate the player’s hand.

It was not clear when or where the tattoo work was carried out but the film was posted five days ago on the alexink8 account.

It appears to have taken place in some kind of industrial area.

Now Arsenal want to know if their ten-goal top-scorer has compromised their biosecure bubble.

Barcelona fans are setting off fireworks outside PSG’s team hotel, in an attempt to prevent the French side’s stars from sleeping.

The relationship between the two sides has been strained at best, since Barcelona’s stunning 6-1 Champions League victory over the Parisians, followed by the subsequent £200million Neymar deal.

With PSG in town, The Sun reports, the LaLiga side’s fans wanted to cause some disruption.

But things have reached breaking point this season, given PSG’s very public pursuit of Lionel Messi.

Speculation over the Argentine’s future has loomed large over Barcelona’s season.

But with PSG in town, their fans wanted to cause some disruption of their own.

In video footage captured by El Chiringuito, large cracks can be heard reverberating through the Catalonia sky, just by where PSG happen to be staying.

This follows the less than hospitable welcome that PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi received upon his arrival earlier today.

In more footage, fans can be heard shouting: “Son of a b***h! Thief! Let go of Messi, thief!”

PSG have not been shy of expressing their interest in the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, with Mauricio Pochettino, Neymar and Angel Di Maria having all made admiring noises – while France Football mocked up a front page image of Messi in a PSG shirt.

This led to Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman furiously criticising the ‘disrespectful’ French giants.

Photo Credit: PSG_English/Twitter

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel gave his assessment after beating Newcastle 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

Chelsea climb into the top four thanks to goals from Giroud and Werner, leapfrogging Liverpool and West Ham.

Newcastle didn’t really give the Blues a run for their money, and as a consequence, they stay in 17th.

Tuchel told Sky Sports: “I liked the first half. We played with courage and a lot of purpose in the box.

“We had a lot of shots and managed to keep them away from our box. I liked that a lot.

“Our decision-making in the box can be more deadly, more precise, more decisive.

“The second half, we gave away shots, lost duels, suddenly there were corners against us.

“We played too many balls back. We did not keep the advantage to put the game into the opponent’s half.

“Our counter attacks were also not clinical enough to score a third goal and finish the game.”