Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink was thrilled with his side’s quick start in the 5-1 victory over Newcastle United ahead of their crucial Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Convincing victory

The Blues proved prolific against Steve McClaren’s side with Diego Costa and Pedro putting the home side up just nine minutes into the match.

Willian, another from Pedro and a final strike from Bertrand Traore canceled out Andros Townsend's consolation to give the Blues their most convincing performance since Hiddink’s return to Stamford Bridge.

Smart thinking

The home side's dominance allowed Hiddink to take off both Costa and Willian ahead of Tuesday’s tough trip to the Parc des Princes. The Dutchman admitted it was his plan to start quick to catch their opponents unawares.

Hiddink told Sky Sports that his side tried to press “from the first minute” to “surprise them” and believes that the quick-fire goals made the Magpies “very unstable”.

He added that he was aware that “everyone was talking about the Tuesday game” which could make a side start a “little bit slow”. However, Hiddink believes it was key to “take advantage” in the early stages, meaning the team don’t have to press in the “later period of the game”.

Hiddink's win seems to have set Chelsea up for their battle with PSG in the best possible way. | Image source: Sky Sports
Hiddink's win seems to have set Chelsea up for their battle with PSG in the best possible way. | Image source: Sky Sports

Defensive giants

Despite their attacking flair on show for the 90 minutes, Hiddink was particularly impressed with the back-line display saying that everyone was “disciplined” in their defensive work. He believes the quality “automatically comes up” and thinks that is what Chelsea have to do “even more”.

Despite remaining undefeated since Hiddink made his return to the club after replacing Jose Mourinho, this was their first victory at Stamford Bridge since and Hiddink states that the confidence is return to his squad.

Hiddink said that he wasn’t “satisfied” with being “unbeaten with a lot of draws”. He feels they have “more confidence” and it is good to be “unbeaten with victories”.

Chelse will visit Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes on Tuesday, February 16 with kick-off at 7:45PM GMT.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.