Summer signing Jorginho set a new Chelsea record for passes in a single Premier League match as the Blues edged their way past Newcastle on Sunday.
Maurizio Sarri’s side took the lead from the penalty spot through Eden Hazard but were quickly pegged back by Joselu, though DeAndre Yedlin own goal late on was enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
That makes it three wins out of three for Chelsea under their new head coach, and his eye-catching style is already starting to take seed.
Sarri took Jorginho with him from Napoli in a £52million deal and the Italy international has quickly become important to his side’s midfield control.
Jorginho completed 86 passes out of a possible 92 in the first half (93.5%), 19 more than the whole Newcastle side combined (67).
And against Newcastle he set a new record for most successful passes by a Chelsea player in the Premier League – though he fell just short of the overall record in the league.
1. Ilkay Gundogan – MAN CITY v Chelsea (17/18) – 167
2. Jorginho – CHELSEA v Newcastle (18/19) – 158
3. Yaya Toure – MAN CITY v Stoke (11/12) – 157
4. Santi Cazorla – ARSENAL v Sunderland (14/15) – 154
4. Joel Matip – LIVERPOOL v Huddersfield (17/18) – 154
Cesc Fabregas, who is injured, was Chelsea’s previous pass master, having completed 144 passes against West Brom four years ago.
But Jorginho completed an incredible 158 passes against Newcastle – that’s one pass every 34 seconds – while by himself he accounted for 15% of the entire possession in the match while Benitez side had just 18% of the ball total.
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He fell just nine successful passes shy of Ilkay Gundogan’s record of 167, set last campaign against Chelsea, though Jorginho slots in at number two in the all-time list. If he continues like this, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks the record outright.
