Alan Pardew believes Newcastle United have beaten the best side in Europe after ending Chelsea’s perfect start to the new Premier League season.
Papiss Cisse came off the bench to bang in a brace but Steven Taylor’s late red card and a Didier Drogba goal threatened to give the Blues a share of the spoils.
However, it was the Magpies who flew away with the points by holding out for a 2-1 win and ruining the Blues’ chances of setting a new club record of 24 matches without loss in all competitions.
The Blues remain clear of Manchester City at the top of the table despite the defeat and United manager Pardew was proud to inflict Jose Mourinho’s first defeat of term.
“For us it was a special day for a lot of our players,” Pardew told BT Sport. “It was a really team effort to beat the best team in Europe.
"They are a consistently great side and they will take some stopping to win the league but today is our day and we really enjoyed it."
Newcastle had to play the closing stages with 10 men following Taylor’s dismissal and Pardew thought that the additional time added on was more than genorous.
"I was very disappointed with the six minutes,” he added. Talk about Fergie time - that was definitely Mourinho time."
