Spanish striker Ayoze Perez put Newcastle ahead in the 42nd minute and Georginio Wijnaldum headed a second goal in the 60th as a Newcastle side tipped for relegation defied all the odds at St. James’ Park.
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That is, until Perez broke the deadlock minutes before half-time, capitalising on some abysmal defending from Zouma and Branislav Ivanovic to fire home off the post.
The Blues started well enough with Zouma, again preferred to John Terry in central defence, seeing a rasping free-kick go just wide early on.
Substitutes Ramires and Willian got Chelsea out of jail as they fought back from 2-0 down at Newcastle to snatch a point.
The Bosnian goalkeeper first denied Perez and just seconds later got down low to his left to keep out Daryl Janmaat’s effort.
Maybe he was still brooding over the retrospective ban handed to Diego Costa this week.
But just as Steve McClaren’s men sensed a first league win of the season, Ramires came off the bench to unleash a shot that rocketed into the Newcastle net in the 78th minute.
In the end, he was pleased with a point despite coming so close to the win. “It is important to state that we bear collective responsibility for our position in the table”.
“I think in this country, only one manager is not under pressure”, Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference. “That was more like it”.
His opposite number, Jose Mourinho, criticised his players after making a sluggish start.
We all know who the best players are but defining those with the power to shape events in the Premier League is not so simple – so we’ve created The Independent’s Premier League Power Rankings.
ONE of Newcastle United’s most expensive and exciting signings of the summer could find himself given some time out of the firing line while he adjusts to life in the Premier League. This is good news for our defense (to a degree) and to their faces as well as he won’t be around to try to headbutt them. I think everybody, certainly from the outside looking in, everyone was clamoring for change at Newcastle United from the top right the way through. “He stops the game, speaks too much and that would be hard”.
“But this first half, I can rate as one of those performances, yes”.
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And the £14m buy from Marseille, who was perceived to be one of France’s most talented prospects not too long ago, is unlikely to figure in the starting line-up when Chelsea travel to St James’ Park this evening.
