Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 0: Cole the showboater joins engine-room to steady Chelsea ship

On Saturday, Chelsea's manager had nothing but praise for the England midfielder. "Then he was a player of potential, now he is the complete pro," Mourinho said. "His game has developed over the past 12 months. He is physically stronger, better tactically, and, of course, he is extremely skilful."

The days when Cole could not be sure of a regular place in the starting line-up, and of completing those games for which he was selected, appear to be behind him.

The tricks are still there but there is more directness about his play, qualities that are firmly fixed in the mind of England's coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday where Cole's wiles were too much for a below-strength Newcastle lacking Alan Shearer and Michael Owen.

Recent results had come as something of a shock for the champions, with elimination from the Carling Cup, at home by Charlton Athletic followed by back-to-back defeats against Real Betis and Manchester United, and Stamford Bridge was not its usual confident self until Cole settled the crowd's nerves with the first goal in the 47th minute.

Well before then, Newcastle were hard done by when the referee, Mike Halsey, refused them an obvious penalty for John Terry's scything tackle on Lee Bowyer, and their sense of injustice increased when they had a second appeal turned down, Frank Lampard appearing to handle the ball well inside the area. Mourinho was dismissive of both incidents. "Penalties? I didn't see any," he said.

Chelsea are back on track, but for a long time lacked any semblance of style, with little in the way of constructive passing. Unable to penetrate Newcastle's five-man midfield they had only one tactic, to get the ball wide and cross it, and when the crosses came in they were generally overhit or wide of the target.

After their recent stutter, and with Wednesday's Champions' League tie away to Anderlecht in mind, Mourinho rotated his squad and started without four regulars: Didier Drogba (suspended), Michael Essien, William Gallas and Paulo Ferreira.

Essien's rest lasted only 13 minutes, at which point he was called upon to replace Claude Makelele, who injured a knee in a typically robust tackle on Scott Parker. "Makelele is a tough player, so when he has to come off it has to be a worry," Mourinho said. "Fit for Wednesday? We'll have to wait and see."

Struggling to find any sort of cohesion, Chelsea should nevertheless have gone in front after 18 minutes, when Ricardo Carvalho headed Damien Duff's free-kick wide from eight yards. It prompted Chelsea into a period of pressure on Newcastle's stoutly defended goal but they failed to turn a glut of possession into anything worthwhile.

At half-time Newcastle could feel pleased with themselves, but within two minutes of the resumption Chelsea were ahead, directly the result of a misplaced pass by Titus Bramble. Eidur Gudjohnsen fastened on to it and from the edge of the centre circle delivered a pass that sent Cole scampering through in the inside-right channel. The England midfielder set himself and scored with a low shot. Newcastle's stubborn defence had cracked, and after 51 minutes they fell further behind from a fine move begun by Essien after robbing Norberto Solano. Lampard continued the thrust and the England player's expertly weighted pass allowed Hernan Crespo to embarrass the hapless Bramble before curling his shot inside Shay Given's left hand post.

There was at last something for the Newcastle contingent to cheer when Charles N'Zogbia struck a rising 20-yarder that Peter Cech was happy to tip over. But the last word went to Chelsea in the 90th minute when Duff, out on the left stepped inside Peter Ramage to score with a shot that deflected off Parker.

Graeme Souness was philosophical. "We've come here today without Shearer and Owen and been beaten by two ricks in defence and a deflected goal," he said. "As for the penalty appeals, I thought they were both legitimate calls. Obviously, Mark Halsey, the referee, felt differently. But I'm not having a go at him. I can't afford the fines."

Mourinho, who still insists that the championship will be won on the last day of the season, was asked about pressure. "Pressure? Football is not about pressure. Pressure is not having enough money to buy food," he said.

Goals: Cole (47) 1-0; Crespo (51) 2-0; Duff (90) 3-0.

Chelsea: (4-1-2-3): Cech; Johnson (Gallas, 60), Carvalho, Terry, Del Horno; Makelele (Essien, 13); Gudjohnsen, Lampard; J Cole, Crespo (Wright-Phillips, 80) Duff. Substitutes not used: Cudicini, C Cole.

Newcastle United: (4-1-2-3): Given; Babayaro, Boumsong, Bramble, Ramage; Parker; N'Zogbia Bowyer; Emre Belozoglu, Solano (Chopra, 70), Ameobi. Substitutes not used: Harper, Faye, Clark, Brittain.

Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).

Booked: Chelsea Terry, Lampard; Newcastle Solano.

Man of the match: J Cole.

Attendance: 42,258.