Chelsea matchwinner Marcos Alonso says beating Newcastle United was the ideal way to return from the international break.

Alonso expected Newcastle's resistance and felt the home side's patience finally paid off in the second half.

"They played in a very compact style so it's not easy to find space to attack and create chances," he told chelseafc.com. "In the second half, we did very well and were intense in our play. That makes it hard for them to hold for 90 minutes so we were able to get the goal and the three points.

"We were prepared for them to play like that. Maybe in the first half, we were lacking a bit of patience and finesse in the final third but we always had belief that the goal would come.

"We have many options in the team and this is good. The team is getting better, we are improving game by game and we need to continue in this way. We are moving the ball quickly, our press is good and we are doing a good job as a team. We have clear ideas and we have to continue in this way."

Alonso felt the three Premier League points were particularly important coming in the first game back from an international break and he emphasised that hard work was paying off with results as we secured a fifth consecutive win in all competitions.

"It was very important to win after the international break," he admitted. "We played with a lot of patience and at the end we got the goal, we kept grafting and got a good reward

"It's a new season with new staff and there's room for improvement but since the beginning we have improved a lot. We need to keep focused on each game and work hard in training."