Chelsea continued their poor Premier League form with a defeat away to Newcastle United that will give Graham Potter much to ponder over the winter break.

It means the London side have not won in the league since a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on 16 October and the hiatus for the World Cup comes at the perfect time.

Newcastle – backed by a boisterous home crowd – started the brightest, and although Chelsea created a few chances themselves in the first half, Potter’s side were far too passive.

Conor Gallagher came closest to opening the scoring with a great effort that drew an even better save from Nick Pope and it proved to be a crucial moment in the match, with Joe Willock scoring a few minutes later.

That was all Newcastle needed as they secured a win that takes them to third place in the table and the feel-good factor around the club continues to grow.

Chelsea, on the other hand, were poor, with players such as Kalidou Koulibaly – who lost possession 16 times – putting in performances far below their best last night.

It was perhaps a Blues star who is heading to Qatar that was Potter’s weak link, however, as Mason Mount flattered to deceive up against Eddie Howe’s side.

Mount received a SofaScore rating of just 6.7 and he even had fewer touches of the ball than Edouard Mendy (29 to 52), showing just how far off the pace he was - something doesn’t bode well with England’s first World Cup match just nine days away.

Usually so creative in attack, the 23-year-old struggled to assert his authority in the match, having no shots and completing just 12 passes, although he did succeed with his only dribble attempt. With four goal contributions in his previous 13 matches, more would have been expected of the player and he let Potter down.

There’s no denying the club are going through a rough patch at the moment, yet quality players like Mount should be stepping up and contributing more in tight matches such as these.

Gareth Southgate will more than likely thrust the 23-year-old into his starting XI against Iran in their first World Cup fixture, yet he will need to drastically improve if he hopes to make a positive impact in the tournament.