Maurizio Sarri has admitted that Chelsea had a "very difficult" time playing their game in Sunday's 2-1 win at Newcastle United.

The Magpies lined up in a 5-4-1 formation at St James' Park, and the Blues struggled to break their opponents down despite boasting over 80% of possession by full time.

Eden Hazard eventually broke the deadlock with a 76th-minute penalty, but Magpies substitute Joselu levelled with a header seven minutes from time.

Late on in the game, however, Marcos Alonso's shot took a deflection off DeAndre Yedlin to finally give a dominant Chelsea side all three points.

"The match was very difficult and it was impossible to have space," Sarri told Sky Sports News. "We were good, better in the second half, but it was very difficult.

"I don't know [about the penalty], I was far from the incident and I am not the referee, and I don't want to be a referee either.

"Eden has played very well but maybe it was better if he played for only 75/80 minutes, but [Mateo] Kovacic asked me to be replaced so it was not possible."

Chelsea return to Premier League action next Saturday by hosting Bournemouth.