Chelsea fight back to hold Newcastle to draw

Chelsea clawed their way back from a two-goal deficit to force a 2-2 draw against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday, easing mounting pressure on manager Enzo Maresca after a turbulent week.

The Blues looked headed for a damaging defeat after Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade struck twice in the first half, exposing Chelsea’s shaky defence and putting Maresca firmly in the spotlight.

Woltemade opened the scoring just four minutes in, tapping into an empty net after Robert Sanchez parried Anthony Gordon’s effort. The German doubled Newcastle’s lead in the 20th minute, poking home from close range after Gordon was given too much space to deliver a dangerous cross. A VAR check confirmed Woltemade was narrowly onside.

Chelsea were fortunate not to go into the break three goals down, with Woltemade volleying wide from a gilt-edged chance moments before half-time.

However, Maresca’s half-time talk sparked a response. Reece James pulled one back in the 49th minute with a superb free-kick that flew past Newcastle goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Newcastle were then left furious after being denied a penalty when Trevoh Chalobah appeared to barge into Gordon inside the box, a decision that swung momentum in Chelsea’s favour.

With the Magpies weakened by defensive injuries to key players including Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Sven Botman, Chelsea pressed on. Ramsdale was forced into a fine save to deny Pedro Neto before Joao Pedro struck the equaliser in the 66th minute.

The Brazilian showed great awareness to head Sanchez’s long kick past Malick Thiaw before racing through and finishing low into the corner.

The equaliser sparked wild celebrations from Maresca, who danced on the touchline in visible relief.

Chelsea remain fourth in the Premier League despite managing just one win in their last five league matches. But the gritty comeback could prove vital for Maresca, who has faced criticism over team rotation and reports linking him with a potential move to Manchester City.

Speaking earlier in the week, Maresca dismissed claims he could replace Pep Guardiola as “100 percent speculation” and admitted he had endured his toughest days at Chelsea amid a lack of backing during the club’s poor run