Needing a reaction after the disappointment of the Wear-Tyne derby defeat, Newcastle wasted no time imposing themselves against fellow EFL Cup semi-finalists Chelsea.
With just four minutes on the clock, Robert Sanchez produced an excellent reaction stop to keep out Anthony Gordon’s close-range effort, but he could do nothing to prevent Nick Woltemade from slamming home into an empty net on the follow-up.
Woltemade had netted just once in 11 games heading into this one, but with 20 minutes played, the Newcastle forward had a brace as he applied a deft touch to Gordon’s inswinger, surviving a long VAR check to put the Magpies two ahead.
The visitors gradually improved as the half wore on, coming close to halving the deficit when Pedro Neto inadvertently guided the ball in with his hand.
Nonetheless, the hosts could have all but wrapped up the points before the break had Woltemade been able to direct Gordon’s dangerous ball on target.
Only Brentford had dropped more PL points from winning positions than Newcastle’s 11, and just four minutes after the restart, Blues captain Reece James restored some Chelsea confidence when he whipped a delightful free-kick in off the post to halve the deficit.
Soon after, Trevoh Chalobah got away with a rough challenge on Gordon that could have conceded a penalty, preserving Chelsea’s momentum as they pressed for a leveller.
Looking unrecognisable from the first half, the Blues found an equaliser in the 66th minute thanks to Joao Pedro, whose first touch from Sanchez’s long pass took the ball away from Malick Thiaw, allowing him the space to race through on goal and slot past Aaron Ramsdale.
An end-to-end finale unfolded as James slid in to deny substitute Harvey Barnes what looked to be a certain goal, shortly before side-footing a volley wide to the despair of the home crowd.
Another substitute, Anthony Elanga, could have stolen the points at the death, but his counterattack ended with him bending a shot off-target as an enthralling contest drew to a close.
Newcastle are without a clean sheet in 10 games, a stat that will undoubtedly concern the Toon after throwing away a commanding HT lead to leave them in the bottom half of the PL standings.
For Enzo Maresca, a much-improved second-half display will see his side end the weekend where they started, sitting fourth despite dropping points in four of their last five league games (W1, D3, L1).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
