CHELSEA came back and picked up an entertaining 2-2 draw against Newcastle at St James’ Park.
The Blues found themselves trailing 2-0 in the first half following a brace by Nick Woltemade.
Woltemade opened the scoring after just four minutes and doubled the Magpies’ lead in the 20th-minute mark to ramp up the heat on Enzo Maresca’s side.
However, the West Londoners fought back in the second half with Reece James hitting the back of the net on 49 minutes.
And Joao Pedro levelled things up in the 66th minute to save a point up north.
But who stood out for Chelsea? SunSport’s Gary Stonehouse rates each and every one of Maresca’s players:
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Robert Sanchez – 7
Was unlucky with the opener after saving Anthony Gordon’s first effort before a brilliant tip over to deny the winger moments later. His quick-thinking also led to the equaliser. Can be satisfied with his day’s work.
Malo Gusto – 4
Was rattled from the off by the Newcastle attack with Gordon outmuscling him ahead of the first goal and then almost costing his team a second as he played possum on the floor after failing to get a foul. Ran ragged by Gordon at times and was put out of his misery shortly after the break.
Wesley Fofana – 5
Lost the ball to Anthony Gordon in the build-up to Nick Woltemade’s opener and let the German get away far too easily for his second. Grew in both physicality and confidence after the break to stifle Toon’s attack as his team launched the fightback.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6
Fared better than centre-back partner Fofana but was fortunate to see Woltemade put one wide right before the break. Like his colleague, improved as the tide turned second half.
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Marc Cucurella – 7
Enjoyed a decent battle with Jacob Murphy and eventually came out on top as the winger made way for Anthony Elanga.
Reece James – 8
Led by example throughout. When the chips were down, tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck and drag his team out of the mud. Took his free-kick brilliantly to get Chelsea back into it and completely shut-out Gordon after switching to right-back.
A fantastic last-ditch tackle to deny Harvey Barnes typified his man of the match performance. Remains the main man in Enzo Marseca’s machine.
Moises Caicedo – 7
Recovered from a shaky opening to help Chelsea get back into it alongside James. The pair had their work cut out against Toon’s midfield trio, but refused to cave in.
Made a brilliant tackle to deny Woltemade a hat-trick just before half time and took control in the centre once joined by Fernandez. Almost grabbed a late winner only for his long-distance effort to whiz just the wrong side of the top corner.
Pedro Neto – 7
Offered little going forward and was turned far too easily by Gordon for Newcastle’s second.
His frustrations led to a booking, but he recovered to offer his team a lot more, forcing Ramsdale into a stop.
Was one of the driving forces behind the comeback after the break with his tireless running and energy.
Cole Palmer – 5
Looked set to be a nuisance after almost lobbing Aaron Ramsdale inside the opening two minutes but did little else first half.
Drew the foul that led to James’ getting them back into it with the free-kick but spent most of the time on the ground claiming fouls.
Still not firing on all cylinders after his long lay-off.
Alejandro Garnacho – 6
Was lively while others around him looked startled by Toon’s aggressive start but failed to produce much of an end product.
Never gave up, and his efforts were nearly rewarded as he was denied a winner by Ramsdale late on.
Joao Pedro – 7
Despite little service in the opening period, he still contributed to help out defensively from set-plays against Toon’s big men.
The Brazilian then did superbly for the equaliser, turning Malick Thiaw and galloping clear to level.
SUBS
Enzo Fernandez (for Gusto, 55) – 7
What a difference the Argentinean made after his introduction. Chelsea looked a completely different team with him in it. Which begs the question, why was he not in from the start?
Andrey Santos (for Palmer, 80) – 5
Injected some fresh energy into the attack after taking over from the under-par Palmer but there was just not enough time left on the clock to make too much difference.