Chelsea came from two goals down to earn an encouraging 2-2 draw at Newcastle.
Chelsea made a nightmarish start at St James’ Park as Nick Woltemade gave Newcastle the lead after just three minutes following a bit of a goal-line scramble. The German scored again before the 20-minute mark.
But Chelsea regrouped after the break and got back into the game through Reece James’s wonderful free-kick, before levelling the game and earning a drawn from Joao Pedro’s one-on-one finish.
Dom Smith was at St James’ Park to rate the Chelsea players’ performances…
Robert Sanchez 8
Made some fine saves in a first half when Chelsea were constantly under siege. Assisted the equaliser with an inch-perfect . Fair play.
Malo Gusto 4
Had a very difficult afternoon at right-back. Booked for an argument; the first player subbed off.
Wesley Fofana 6
Was intercepted for the opening goal but other than that went about his business quite well.
Trevoh Chalobah 6
One or two good turnovers of the ball, but was not entirely convincing and was part of a defence that was 2-0 down inside the first 20 minutes. Defended well after half-time.
Marc Cucurella 4
Really struggled defensively. Got better after the break, just as Chelsea did on a whole, but still not a good display from the Spaniard.
Reece James 7
He did not look his usual physical presence in midfield, but improved when he shifted to right-back - which came after he had got Chelsea back into the game with a magnificent free-kick. Made a goal-saving tackle after 78 minutes, and escaped a late red card.
Moises Caicedo 6
Won the ball with blocks and interceptions but not as good as usual on the ball. Nearly scored a stunning late screamer.
Pedro Neto 6
Gradually grew in prominence. Garnacho should have passed to him on a couple of occasions but didn’t, which left the Portuguese fuming.
Cole Palmer 6
Tried to make things happen in a first half when few did. Lasted 79 minutes.
Alejandro Garnacho 4
A poor performance from Chelsea’s midweek two-goal hero. Regularly lost the ball and kept shooting over the bar. Booked.
Joao Pedro 6
Had been very quiet but then did all the work himself from Sanchez’s long ball to equalise against the other team that tried to sign him in the summer.
Subs:
Enzo Fernandez (Gusto, 54’) 5
Came on and provided plenty of hustle and bustle in midfield.
Andrey Santos (Palmer, 79’) N/A
Not used: Jorgensen, Tosin, Badiashile, Hato, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte
