It was a disappointing start to our last game before Christmas, as two first-half Newcastle United goals by Nick Woltemade gave us a mountain to climb after the break, with both sides also having goals ruled out for clear infringements during the opening 45 minutes.

However, we begun our fight-back immediately after coming out for the second half. That was sparked by a free-kick awarded for a trip on Cole Palmer, and curled in off the inside of the post brilliantly by Reece James.

That knocked the wind out of Newcastle's sails and we took full advantage when Robert Sanchez spotted the opportunity to launch a kick towards Joao Pedro, who impressively nodded himself free of the last defender and slotted home a composed equaliser.

Both sides had chances to grab all three points in a tense finish, but neither could take them, leaving the points shared on Tyneside.

The selection

Enzo Maresca made one change from the side which beat Everton in our last Premier League fixture. Robert Sanchez minded the Chelsea net, protected by a back line of Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella again. Reece James captained the side in a midfield role, partnering Moises Caicedo, the only player to come into the team, as he replaced Enzo Fernandez. In attack, Joao Pedro led the line, supported by the trio of Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Cole Palmer.

Tough start

It may have been Christmas time but there was nothing festive about the atmosphere which greeted Chelsea at St James’ Park, with loud roars from the home fans around the stadium as Palmer kicked off this early Saturday game.

Our No10 nearly silenced the home crowd inside the first two minutes. He had been joking with Aaron Ramsdale as the teams lined up and had his international team-mate scrambling with a cheeky lob, trying to catch him out, but it landed on the roof of the net.

Instead, it was the home side who found the opening goal. When Fofana was dispossessed in the middle of the pitch trying to carry the ball forward, Newcastle attacked quickly, finding Jacob Murphy out on the right. His cross was met by Anthony Gordon, whose effort was well saved by Sanchez, but the rebound spun out of Chalobah’s reach to allow Nick Woltemade a simple tap in.

Garnacho tried to respond with an effort from the edge of the box, but he couldn’t keep it down. Chelsea were then furious when the referee allowed play to continue when Gusto went down injured following an off-the-ball collision. That left Gordon unmarked at the back post in acres of space as he was picked out by another Murphy cross, but Sanchez produced an excellent fingertip save to divert the ball over the bar.

The Magpies had the ball in the net again on the 15-minute mark, through Lewis Hall, but it was ruled out as Fabian Schar had clearly fouled Sanchez as he attempted to throw out to launch a counter following a Newcastle corner.

Losing ground

The home side were upping the intensity and physicality all over the pitch, and it was becoming a tough afternoon on Tyneside for the Blues. As we approached the halfway point of the first half, it got even tougher.

When Newcastle got their second goal it was through a similar route to the first, although on this occasion the cross was provided by Gordon on their left. Woltemade timed his run to meet it first, and direct the ball inside the right-hand post, beyond the outstretched arm of Sanchez.

The frustration was becoming apparent as the Chelsea players fought to try and gain a foothold in this game, with Garnacho and Gusto joining Sanchez in the referee’s book. However, as hard as we tried to claw our way back - on one occasion literally as the ball ricocheted into the Newcastle net off Neto's hand, the goal instantly being disallowed - we were otherwise unable to trouble Ramsdale before the half-time break.

Fighting for a foothold

It was set to be an uphill struggle in the second-half, but we wasted no time in reducing the deficit. The Blues went on the attack almost immediately and pulled one back inside five minutes.

It was Palmer’s drive forward through the centre which drew the foul and provided the opportunity. Cole left the resulting free-kick for James, and our captain curled in his shot beautifully. He looped it over the wall and down, going in off the foot of the left-hand post to give Ramsdale no chance.

The game now had a very different feel to it, as Newcastle were no longer having things all their own way and a nervousness began to creep into the home supporters. Neto and James both tried their luck as we began to exert some pressure on the Magpies, the latter requiring a strong hand from Ramsdale to turn it away.

Joao pulls us level

We looked to build on that momentum, with Enzo Fernandez being introduced to bolster our midfield, and with 25 minutes left on the clock we had an equaliser which had seemed unlikely going into the break. It was provided by a brilliant piece of solo improvisation from Joao Pedro.

Sanchez spotted the Brazilian on the last defender, so quickly kicked long from his hands. A clever cushioned header wrong-footed his marker and set Joao Pedro free to race towards goal, steadying himself one-on-one before calmly rolling a finish beyond Ramsdale.

Chelsea's tails were up now, and Garnacho was a whisker away from giving us the lead when he drove into the box and fired a powerful effort just over the bar at the near post. Newcastle responded with a triple substitution, changing their entire front three, but it was anybody's game now.

All to play for

In the final 15 minutes the game was finely balanced and could have gone either way. Both teams cautiously probed for an opening, while aware that one error now would likely decide the destination of the points.

The Blues were grateful to their skipper again when James produced an incredible last-gasp sliding challenge to nick the ball away just when it looked like Ashley Barnes was free on goal 10 yards out. We were the ones pushing for the winner after that, though, Caicedo firing narrowly wide of the top corner from range, before Garnacho forced a low save from Ramsdale.

Newcastle then had a couple of late chances to snatch all three points themselves, but neither Barnes nor Anthony Elanga could find the target at the end of those counter-attacks, leaving the two sides to share the points in this festive fixture.

What it means

Chelsea remains fourth in the Premier League table, with a three-point advantage over those teams below us, who play later in the weekend.

What is next

This was our last game before Christmas, but we have two more Premier League matches before the end of the year. They are both at home at Stamford Bridge, where we host Aston Villa at 5.30pm on Saturday 27 December, then Bournemouth at 7.30pm on Tuesday 30 December.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto (Fernandez 55), Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James (c), Caicedo; Neto, Palmer (Santos 80), Garnacho; Joao Pedro
Unused subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Acheampong, Hato, Buonanotte, Guiu
Scorers: James 49, Joao Pedro 67
Booked: Sanchez 7, Garnacho 27, Gusto 45, Maresca 59, Caicedo 70, Santos 82, Joao Pedro 83

Newcastle United (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Miley, Schar, Thiaw, Hall; Guimaraes (c), Tonali, Ramsey (Willock 89); J Murphy (Elanga 71), Woltemade (Wissa 71), Gordon (Barnes 71)
Unused subs: Ruddy, A Murphy, Joelinton, Shahar
Scorer: Woltemade 4, 20
Booked: Schar 61, Wissa 77, Hall 86

Referee: Andy Madley