Chelsea came from two goals down against a rejuvenated Newcastle United side to claim a point in Saturday’s late kickoff.
The Magpies took the lead three minutes before the interval when Ayoze Perez sent a half-volley flying past Asmir Begovic and their lead was doubled on the hour mark when Georginio Wijnaldum headed home a corner from Perez.
Looking as though they were heading for their fourth defeat of the season, the Blues staged a late comeback courtesy of a wonder strike from Ramires and a free kick from Willian.
Formations
The Magpies lined up with a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this season, with usual custodian Tim Krul between the posts protected by a back four of Daryl Janmaat, Chancel Mbemba, Fabricio Colocinni and debutant Kevin Mbabu. Across the midfield was Moussa Sissoko, Vurnon Anita, Jack Colback and Georginio Wijnaldum. Leading the line were Ayoze Perez and Aleksandr Mitrovic who returned from suspension.
The Blues lined up with their traditional 4-2-3-1 formation with a back four of Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta protecting Bosnian shot stopper Asmir Begovic. Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas operated in the middle of the park whilst Pedro, Oscar and Eden Hazard gave support to lone striker Loic Remy.
Pedro and Hazard quiet
Against a shaky Newcastle defence, Chelsea wingers Eden Hazard and Pedro would have been hoping to have a very large impact on proceedings. Instead the pair were kept relatively quiet, with only one cross completed between them. A large reason for this is the impressive debut of young Magpies left back Mbabu who contributed with important blocks and interceptions at key stages.
Chelsea substitutes make instant impact
If football managers were rated for their substitutions, then Jose Mourinho would have received a 10 out of 10 at St James Park. Ramires came on for the dissapointing Oscar after 73 minutes and a mere six minutes after his arrival scored a superb goal to give the Blues a chance. The equaliser also came from a substitute, this time in the form of Willian. Aside from earning a point for their side, the pair completed 27 passes between them in their short time on the pitch, with a 93% completion rate.
Sissoko has another disappointing outing
It does not seem right to point out the negative aspects of Newcastle’s performance after showing encouraging signs, but one player who was once again well below his best was Frenchman Moussa Sissoko. The midfielder played most of the game (substituted in second half injury time) but completed only 11 out of 17 attempted passes. Additionally, he created no chances, no crosses, no tackles, no interceptions and only two blocks. Sissoko has the potential to be the x-factor for Newcastle but he seems to suffering from severe laziness at the moment which is evident in his performances.
Mitrovic makes a nuisance of himself
After Papiss Cisse did next to nothing other than collect his wages during Mitrovic’s suspension, the Serbian striker needed to have no worries about his spot in the first XI upon his return. The 21-year-old started in place of the Senegalese international and whilst he did not open his account for the season, it was there for all to see that Mitrovic offers another dimension to this Newcastle side – that of a physical presence.
A worry heading into the match was that Mitrovic would once again let his temper get the better of him but in his 85 minutes on the pitch he committed only four fouls. Such is the nature of his physical presence, he was on the receiving end of nine infringements which was a strange sight. One gets the feeling that once the fiery striker gets his first goal for his boyhood club, the rest will come with relative ease.
Conclusion
It was fascinating to see the champions once again struggle on a ground which most of their title rivals have comfortably won at in the past. Heading into this contest, the Magpies were severely down on confidence and even the most optimistic Newcastle fans were expecting Jose Mourinho to claim his first league win at St James Park. However, the hoodoo lives on and in truth, Chelsea can count themselves fortunate they got a point. How Newcastle respond to this will be an interesting episode. Will the performance encourage them to take the game to all their opponents, especially sides low in the league? Or will the fact that they let a commanding lead slip physiologically damage the side heading into October? Either way, it is fair to say this contest threw up more questions than answers.
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