Chelsea’s early kick-off against Newcastle was a brilliant watch for the neutral, and a stressful ordeal for fans of the Blues.
That was as poor a first half as we have seen from Chelsea.
Nick Woltemade opened the scoring after just four minutes, and doubled his tally midway through the first half. The Blues finally started playing as the break approached, but failed to register a single shot on target.
Whatever Enzo Maresca said at the interval clearly had an effect. Chelsea came out with an energy that was missing in the first half, and a quite spectacular free-kick from Reece James cut the deficit in half just four minutes after play resumed.
Chelsea drew level through Joao Pedro in the 66th minute, and the final half hour or so was an end-to-end spectacle with neither side able to strike the killing blow. Here’s how Chelsea players got on.
A difficult afternoon, but resilience shown by Chelsea 🙌
Who was your Player of the Match?
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Chelsea player ratings vs Newcastle
Robert Sanchez – 8
Newcastle had their most big chances in a half this season, and could have been up by three or four if not for the heroics of Sanchez. He produced a brilliant save against Anthony Gordon’s effort, but no defender was there to clean up and Woltemade had an easy tap-in.
His assist to Pedro was the highlight of another assured performance from the Spaniard.
Malo Gusto – 6
Gusto was actually one of the better performers when he was on the pitch, but he was sacrificed for more attacking threat in Enzo Fernandez not long into the second half. He can be happy with the display.
Wesley Fofana – 4
Fofana’s fingerprints were on both first-half goals, being dispossessed in his own half moments before the opener, and losing Woltemade for Newcastle’s second.
Trevoh Chalobah – 5
Chelsea hearts might have sunk when Chalobah sent Gordon to the ground in the penalty area. He might have been fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty, but it was shoulder-to-shoulder. Still, not as solid from the duo as we’ve grown used to.
Marc Cucurella – 6
A lot of Newcastle’s danger going forward came from the right flank where Cucurella was defending. It’s not to say he was bad, but there was a predictability to some of Jacob Murphy’s play that he didn’t quite clock.
He did break his back tracking Anthony Elanga in the final minutes, which could have cost Chelsea a point.
Reece James – 9
There’s only one place to start when discussing James against Newcastle. What a hit.
The captain steps up 💪
When's the last time you saw a free-kick that pretty?
Reece James celebrates Chelsea goal
Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images
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As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Chelsea captain prevented an almost certain goal with just 15 minutes to go. It was one of the tackles of the season to keep the Blues in the game.
An imperious performance again from James. True leadership.
Moises Caicedo – 6
The issue Chelsea had in the first half was a complete lack of aggression. Caicedo set the tone with some crunching challenges and verbal back-and-forth, and his teammates matched his energy.
On the ball, though, there was some rust.
Pedro Neto – 6
Neto had a quieter game. He was in and around the box, but couldn’t sort out his feet on a couple of occasions.
The pace will always be a plus for Chelsea, though.
Cole Palmer Chelsea
Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images
Cole Palmer – 5
Palmer got valuable minutes into his legs, but didn’t have too much of an impact on proceedings. There were a couple of concerning moments when he went to ground, but he looked fine exiting the pitch.
Still not back to his best, but he will get there.
Alejandro Garnacho – 6
In a bleak, lifeless first half, Garnacho was actually one of the more proactive Chelsea players. He put some dangerous balls into the area and wasn’t afraid to take a shot on goal.
Too many whizzed over the crossbar, but if you don’t buy a ticket…
Joao Pedro – 8
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
The phenomenal Joao Pedro brought Chelsea level with a cool finish off a hoof from his keeper. Composure personified.
He was vital to Chelsea’s buildup.
Substitutions
Enzo Fernandez – 7
Instant impact from Enzo when he came on. Maybe should have started this one, but no one had issues with the Chelsea XI Maresca picked.
Andrey Santos – 6
Wasn’t on long. Stayed solid, though.
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