Match Report: Chelsea recover from terrible first half to draw 2-2 with Newcastle | OneFootball

Chelsea came down from a 2-0 half time score-line to earn a draw with Newcastle at St James’ Park in Saturday’s early kick off.

At the break it could have been 4-0 to the home team, and getting a draw from there was impressive in itself. The Magpies were full of energy and desire and played Enzo Maresca’s team off the park in the first period.

Wesley Fofana’s inexplicable indecision on the ball in his own half allowed the rampant Anthony Gordon to nick the ball off him and create a Newcastle attack chance which Nick Woltemade finally finished off.

That gave the already voracious home support even more fuel, and soon they had their second. It was Gordon and Woltemade involved again, with the former putting in a lovely cross for the latter to poke home.

At this point Chelsea were rocked and Eddie Howe’s team took advantage. Woltemade could (and perhaps should) have added a third, and the Blues were hopeless in trying to resist the energetic pressing of their opposition.

The game changed in a single moment after the break. It was Reece James, of course, who provided it. Most of the stadium, including Newcastle goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, expected Cole Palmer to take the free kick he had earned on the edge of the box. But it was James who stepped up and fired a perfect effort in off the far post.

After that Chelsea improved, and they levelled when a hopeful boot up the pitch from their goalkeeper found Joao Pedro, until that point almost totally cut off from his teammates. He held the ball up, and when his marker Malick Thiaw slipped, was perfectly placed to collect his own flick on and race in on goal.

He finished calmly under Ramsdale, and at that moment it felt like the game could go either way. But in the end it stayed 2-2, and both sides were left wondering if they should be happy or disappointed by that result.

MOTM – Reece James

Analysis

Joao Pedro finishes his goal. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

You can’t complain too much about coming back from a hopeless looking 2-0 half time scoreline to get a point, especially at a tricky stadium like St James’ Park, but there’s no escaping how dire the first 45 minutes were.

Chelsea were the far fresher team, having played a day earlier in midweek and having rotated the bulk of their first team. Yet the difference in energy levels, commitment and belief in that first period was astonishing. And while James’ free kick and JP’s goal were brilliant, they were moments rather than the result of great team play. This side will get absolutely nowhere until they can play with intensity for 90 minutes every week.

Teams

Newcastle United

Aaron Ramsdale Lewis Miley Malick Thiaw Fabian Schär Lewis Hall Bruno Guimarães Sandro Tonali Jacob Ramsey Jacob Murphy Nick Woltemade Anthony Gordon

Substitutes

John Ruddy Joelinton (s 89′) Yoane Wissa (s 73′) Harvey Barnes (s 72′) Anthony Elanga (s 73′) Joe Willock Alex Murphy Leo Shahar Sean Neave

Chelsea

Robert Sánchez Malo Gusto Wesley Fofana Trevoh Chalobah Marc Cucurella Reece James Moisés Caicedo Pedro Neto Cole Palmer Alejandro Garnacho João Pedro

Substitutes

Filip Jørgensen Tosin Adarabioyo Benoît Badiashile Enzo Fernández (s 54′) Andrey Santos (s 79′) Jorrel Hato Josh Acheampong Marc Guiu Facundo Buonanotte

Stats

Quote of the game

“You watch Chelsea first half and they look like an academy team that’s playing in a participation game. It’s not really [suitable for] a serious, aggressive, horrible fixture… If you had some more experience down that spine and some higher quality in certain positions they would be a very different proposition.” – Gary Neville spells out Chelsea’s problems perfectly.