Despite Newcastle leading at the half by two goals, Chelsea fought back and managed a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United in a Premier League fixture that saw the Magpies extend their home unbeaten run to 10 games.
Right from the start, Newcastle were aggressive, and their high pressure led to an early goal when Robert Sánchez’s aid was needed to stop Anthony Gordon’s shot, but Nick Woltemade was quickest to react and tapped in the ball from an empty net after less than 4 minutes. The striker netted his second goal, after a long VAR check, beautifully turning in Gordon’s cross, and thus the hosts kept firm control of the game.
At first, the Blues faltered, and their hug-and-grow tactic worked for the first half, but their opponents missed out on the opportunity to blow them away. The sides swapped roles in the second half as Chelsea were back on track and four minutes after the restart, against the run of play, Reece James lashed in a magnificent free-kick off the post, bringing his team back to the game.
The visitors took control of the game after the break and were rewarded with an equalizer in the 66th minute when João Pedro took advantage of a long Sánchez kick-off, sprinted, and calmly rounded Aaron Ramsdale before scoring his 2nd in a Chelsea shirt. Both teams pressed on for a winner in an open finale, with James rescuing a goal on the line and Elanga going close with a shot which went wide.
Keeping with the result, Newcastle disallow a clean sheet for the 10th game in a row, while the Blues’ fourth position is a consequence of only 1 victory in their recent 5 league outings.
