Goals: 4. Nick Woltemade, 20. Nick Woltemade – 49. Reece James, 66. João Pedro
Newcastle drew 2-2 at home with Chelsea in the 17th round of the Premier League. The Magpies led by two goals after the first half when Nick Woltemade scored twice, but Enzo Maresca’s men managed to equalize shortly after the break. First, Reece James scored a beautiful free kick and the final result of the match was determined by Joao Pedro after a successful long kick by Roberto Sánchez.
After the disappointment of losing the Wear-Tyne derby, Newcastle needed a quick response and against fellow League Cup semi-finalists Chelsea, they went for it from the start. After just four minutes, Sánchez had to show a great reflex when he blocked Anthony Gordon’s shot from close range, but he was already short on Woltemade’s shot into the empty net.
Woltemade had scored just once in 11 games before this game, but he already had two goals to his name after 20 minutes when he expertly headed in Gordon’s cross to put the Magpies 2-0 up. The moment was scrutinized for a long time on video, but in the end the German striker’s goal was recognized.
The visitors gradually improved and were close to the reduction, but Pedro Neto inadvertently directed the ball into the net with his hands. However, the home team could have decided before the break if Woltemade had done better to finish off Gordon’s dangerous pass.
Just four minutes after the change of sides, James, the Blues captain, put Chelsea back in the game with a beautifully taken free-kick which bounced off the post and into the net. Shortly after, Trevoh Chalobah was lucky not to be awarded a penalty after a hard tackle on Gordon, keeping Chelsea under pressure for an equaliser.
In the second half, the London club was unrecognizable and in the 66th minute they equalized thanks to Pedro, who brilliantly processed a long pass from Sánchez, beat Malick Thiaw and easily beat Aaron Ramsdal.
The end of the match offered action on both sides. James made a timely slide to prevent substitute Harvey Barnes from scoring a near-certain goal and then missed the goal himself. Another substitute, Anthony Elanga, could have decided in the set-up, but his counter-attack ended with a shot wide, and so the thrilling duel ended in a draw.
Newcastle have not kept a clean sheet in 10 games in a row, a statistic that is sure to worry the Magpies, especially as they squandered a significant half-time lead and remain in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
For Marescu, a significantly improved performance after the break means his side will end the weekend in the same place they started it – fourth, despite dropping points in four of their last five league games.
