Chelsea find new year resolution

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0: Jose Mourinho is having one of his tactical strops — we’ve seen it all before — and refuses to speak to the media; but you don’t need to attend a press conference at Stamford Bridge to understand Chelsea have the body language of champions this season.

His team are now two points clear at the top after a comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle, and head to Swansea on Saturday to extend that gap to five before nearest rivals Manchester City face Arsenal 24 hours later.

It was a vital victory for Chelsea, too, coming 10 days after they lost 5-3 at Tottenham on New Year’s Day, a result that had the potential to upset their season but which now is already beginning to look like a one-off blip despite the manager’s self-imposed silence.