Cole Palmer, the brain that gave Chelsea the victory over Newcastle | first division

Enzo Maresca's concern that Chelsea lack leaders It may have merit, but one of their players is constantly setting the right tone. This was another match-winning performance from Cole Palmer, his seventh goal of the season ensuring the wider sense of progress around these parts remains strong, and bringing the latest frustration for a Newcastle team who are now winless in five games in the highest category.

Chelsea may lack the level of control that would satisfy their hyperactive head coach, but they do have Palmer, who is unplayable at his best and also contributed brilliantly to Nicolas Jackson's first goal. They needed this answer to the narrow defeat at Anfield and, despite being lucky at times, deserved to move up a point behind Aston Villa.

The gap would probably have been greater if Alexander Isak, having overtaken Robert Sánchez with 15 minutes remaining, had confronted Joelinton or set his feet to convert from a tight angle. Instead he let the opportunity slip away and Eddie Howe's obvious exasperation spoke to his team's need to get back on track. It was one of the few clear-cut chances for the visitors, with most of their chances coming when Chelsea's intensity and composure failed.

That still happens too often, but Chelsea will always have a chance to eliminate their opponents as long as Palmer is in sight. He beat Nick Pope four minutes into the game, grazing the far post after some good work from Jackson, but the quiet nature of his celebration conveyed fears that VAR would ruin the fun. Indeed it was, replays showed Palmer had strayed a little offside, but a quick start would pay legitimate reward very soon.

While Jackson's shot, clearly converted on the run, was simple enough to make it worth dwelling on an impressive build-up. Palmer's pass from inside the Chelsea half took Tino Livramento completely offside and sent Pedro Neto offside, who deflected the ball away from a sliding Fabian Schär, in full flight on the left. The resulting tee was perfect and the overall impression inspiring.

“The reason people come to the stadium is to see players like him,” Maresca said of Palmer. “They pay to see that type of player.” He did not hesitate to compare the 22-year-old to Gianfranco Zola, who earlier in the day had lavished praise on one of his successors who donned the creative mantle at Chelsea, saying: “They are quite similar in terms of quality.”

Palmer would soon prove it again, but first Chelsea had to suffer the inconvenience of a draw that Newcastle had signaled. Anthony Gordon, Palmer's closest analogue, was absent with a groin injury which Howe said will require a scan, but Isak and Harvey Barnes were causing the flutter. When the latter, taking possession after a meticulously constructed move that cut through Chelsea's midfield, found Lewis Hall on the overlap, the position invited a lurking centre-forward to smell blood. Hall, in his old stomping ground, complied perfectly and Isak wrapped himself up at waist level. The goal, Newcastle's first from open play since September 21, was subjected to its own VAR review but survived.

“I felt the momentum was with us,” Howe said, although Pope had to make a spectacular save when the sparkling Neto fired a shot that went wide. By the end of the first half, Maresca was exasperated enough to take his annoyance at the refereeing decisions, and perhaps the fact that Chelsea's ideas were running out, to his seat; 75 seconds into the interval, he jumped as Palmer made sure it was all forgotten.

Isak was unable to hold on to the ball in the middle of the field and a push from Roméo Lavia was enough to send his teammate running into the abyss between midfield and defence. There is always the feeling that Palmer will deliver in these situations and he justified this with a firm, low finish from 15 yards. Pope will regret being hit at his near post despite the sharpness of the shot.

For a moment, Chelsea seemed to want to escape, Neto jumped high but hit a post. They can be explosive, but the corollary seems to be the inability to slow down, to put method before chaos. “I was shouting the whole game: 'Calm down, calm down, calm down, make passes,'” said Maresca, who is not a model of composure. “There are games, especially today, where if you play basketball they destroy you.”

Isak should have proven that point during a rough period in which Newcastle found a second wind. The pass to an open Joelinton came from close to the byline but allowed Levi Colwill to rescue the situation, and Howe then cut a more conciliatory figure than the one he cursed on the sideline. “Alex moves at 100 miles an hour and you have to make split-second decisions,” he said.

Palmer got the important decisions right and that's the difference. “We were incredible with the ball at times,” Maresca said. Chelsea and its star continue to gain credibility.