Chelsea FC Fight Back, Draw 2-2 With Newcastle United
Chelsea FC came from behind to earn a disappointing point away at Newcastle this afternoon.
Chelsea returned to Barclays Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to Newcastle United. The main talking point surrounding the starting XI was the exclusion of John Terry from central defense. Kurt Zouma would continue his partnership with Gary Cahill while Loic Remy would also be favored over Falcao in place of the suspended Diego Costa.
Chelsea had the first clear-cut chance with about 12 minutes gone. Branislav Ivanovic was able to get a cross into Remy who was just in front of goal. The former Newcastle man tried a quick shot, but his effort went wide of the goal.
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Newcastle got involved in the 28th minute and forced a double save from Asmir Begovic. Ayoze Perez was the first and Daryl Janmaat was the second to have their chances spoiled by the Chelsea goalkeeper.
Cesc Fabregas attempted to add to his improving form in the 38th minute with a long distance effort, but Tim Krul rose well to parry it out for a corner.
Newcastle would be first off the mark, though, with a goal in the 42nd minute. A hopeful ball was lofted in to Perez; with Zouma and Ivanovic looking confused as to who should clear the ball, it ended up falling at the feet of Perez. He then finished well to give the Magpies the lead just before half-time.
Aside from the goal, it was a relatively sleepy first half for both teams. Chelsea had moments of brilliance, but couldn’t sustain anything. In the second half they would need to come out on the front foot, and try to get an early equalizer to shift the momentum.
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However, this would not be the case. Newcastle doubled their lead on the hour mark through Georgino Wijnaldum. The midfielder was able to get himself free in the box, and rose well for the corner to put his club up 2-0. Cesc Fabregas seemed to be the player tasked with marking the Dutchman, but inexplicably gave up after Wijnaldum muscled his way in front of him.
Chelsea would then pull one back in the 79th minute through Ramires. The substitute found some space towards the top of the box, and had a go at goal. His sublime long-range effort beat Tim Krul and cut the Newcastle lead in half.
The Blues subsequently started to play with an urgency that had been missing for the previous 80 minutes. The increased work-rate would pay off with only four minutes to go, as Chelsea would level the scoreline. Substitute Willian would again score directly from a free kick, tying the contest at 2-2. It was now anybody’s game, with the Blues looking more likely to come out on top.
It was not to be, though, and the game ended 2-2. Entertaining to say the least, but also disappointing for Chelsea fans. Even going into a tough environment, this seemed like a game from which Chelsea could take all three points, but they’ll just have to be satisfied with one. The Blues will now begin preparations for a tough UEFA Champions League match against Porto on Tuesday evening.
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