Kai Havertz produced a last-gasp moment of brilliance to snatch a 1-0 win for Chelsea over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, on a day when football club ownership was firmly in the spotlight
Eddie Howe's visitors looked on course for a deserved point going into the 89th minute - but Havertz came up with a stunning touch and finish on the move from Jorginho's long pass to win it for the hosts
The in-form German forward - who escaped a first-half sending off for an elbow on Dan Burn - even nearly made it two in stoppage time, with his deflected shot hitting the bar
It was a cruel conclusion for Newcastle who saw a clear penalty waved away by referee David Coote and VAR John Brooks when Trevoh Chalobah pulled down Jacob Murphy in the box at the start of the second half
The visitors had gone close to winning it themselves, with Miguel Almiron's thunderbolt pushed away by Edouard Mendy at the end of the first half, after Burn had headed wide, and look transformed from the side which struggled so badly in the first half of this campaign
 But their nine-game unbeaten run is over and they sit nine points above the drop zone after Watford's win
For Chelsea, their fifth victory in a row further strengthens their hold on third - but as the players' post-match lap of honour signified, the story on Sunday stretched way beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch
This was Chelsea's first home game since Roman Abramovich was sanctioned on Thursday by the UK government for his connections to Russia President Vladimir Putin, and a day after the Premier League had stripped the owner of his director role at the club, there was a feeling of frustration and uncertainty among the home fans before kick-off at Stamford Bridge
Two Chelsea supporters, Nick Candy and former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, discussed their own plans to buy the club on Sunday but, with restrictions imposed on the club including the selling of match tickets, supporters were aware that for many of them this could be their last visit to the ground for some time
 They treasured the late win, with the celebrations continuing well beyond the final whistle
This match was a sell out before Thursday's news, so a full house watched on as Chelsea's players - still wearing shirts branded with sponsors logos, despite several of those deals being suspended - struggled against a determined Newcastle side
The Magpies' own hierarchy was firmly in the spotlight during their takeover by a Saudi-led consortium in October, with the Premier League seeking "legally binding assurances" that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would not control the club
 But their improvement since Howe was appointed and £80m was invested in the January transfer window has been extraordinary
They were well organised to keep out an early onslaught from Chelsea and threatened from their own set-pieces, with Fabian Schar heading at Mendy from Matt Targett's free-kick
Chelsea began to find their flow, with Timo Werner sending a deflected shot wide after a good move down the right before Mason Mount crashed a free-kick into the side-netting - but Burn's flicked header wide from a follow-up cross from a corner was a warning for the home side
The big talking point of the first half, though, came when Burn was floored by a Havertz elbow in midfield when the pair challenged for a header
 Havertz was booked and escaped further punishment from a VAR check but Burn was furious, pointing his finger at the German and issuing some strong words at his opponent
 "It fits into that category of a little more than a yellow and not quite a red," was the verdict of Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher
Newcastle finished the half strongly, with Almiron's thunderous volley testing Mendy before Schar sent the rebound over the bar and picked up where they left off after the break, with Bruno Guimaraes shooting wide
Another key moment came on 58 minutes when Murphy drove into the box from the left and eventually tumbled under pressure from Chalobah, who had grasped his shirt
 "It's a penalty," said Carragher
 "He's got hold of his shirt
 He doesn't get any of the ball
" Despite a VAR check, Chalobah escaped punishment
Chelsea looked to have capitalised on the moment when Werner was played in by Mount three minutes later and brought down by Newcastle 'keeper Martin Dubravka - but an offside flag had gone up and with Allan Saint-Maximin coming on with 20 minutes to play the vociferous travelling support still believed all three points were on the table
Ultimately, though, a moment of wonderful skill from Havertz settled the contest
 This was Chelsea's first home Premier League game in seven weeks
 For fans without a season ticket, it could be a while before they are back again while the future of their club is decided
 At least they have a stunning moment to treasure until next time
"I can't look past the penalty
 I'm hugely disappointed with that decision and how they've reached that decision
 Jacob's had his shirt ripped off his back
 Clear penalty
 If the referee doesn't give it on the pitch I can understand that but the VAR has to at least make the referee go and review his own decision because if he does he'll realise he got it wrong
" "I think it's a clear and obvious error
 It puts him off balance and then he puts it in his leg
" "It's diabolical refereeing
 How he can not see that? It's a blatant penalty
 If you cannot see that and you've got VAR as well
 They have to make better decisions
" "Sometimes it looks like this
 On the pitch, it's different
 People know I'm not a player who does things like this
 This guy is seven, eight foot tall and I have to jump
 As anyone would know, you have to use your arms to jump
 When I jump and he is two heads higher than me, sometimes there's stuff
 I can say sorry to him because he has an injury on the head and I feel bad
 But you can't tell me I did this on purpose
""It could have been a red
 I'm not going to sit here and say it should have been a red
 Dan thinks it's a red
 He's on the pitch
 It could have been given - but the one I can't understand is the penalty
" "I think it's a very dangerous challenge by Havertz
 You have to use your arms for elevation
 His elbow is high and he catches him on the side of his face
 He could have fractured his cheekbone
"We have to wait day by day because everything can change
 The situation is clear: the club is for sale and hopefully it will go through to sort things out and give us some perspective
 I have no further information than you already have
"Day by day is a good way to live your life and now we're forced to do it because there are circumstances we can't influence
 In some ways that's not so nice but it gives you the freedom to focus on the things you can influence, which is our performances and show the spirit
"The focus is on the first team - but Chelsea is much more than the first team in the Premier League
 It's a massive club with huge tradition and hundreds and hundreds of people and for them it's important we show the spirit, give them a distraction and show them what we're about
"Chelsea will return to Champions League action on Wednesday at 8pm as they travel to face Lille in the second leg of their last-16 tie
 Thomas Tuchel's side will then play Middlesbrough in the quarter-final of the FA Cup on Saturday at 5
15pm
Newcastle's next Premier League game will see them travel to face Everton on Thursday at 7
45pm in what could prove to be a key fixture in this season's relegation battle