James picked up a whopping 78 per cent of the vote in our post-match poll having provided two standout moments at either end: the super free-kick that kickstarted our comeback, and then the last-gasp recovery tackle that preserved a point.

Lifeline of high quality

The Blues seriously struggled in the first half at St James’ Park and found ourselves 2-0 down. As James acknowledged afterwards, ‘we needed to pull something out of the bag’.

The skipper led by example, single-handedly getting us back into the contest with a textbook long-range free-kick. He bent it over the wall with the swerve on the strike taking it away from Aaron Ramsdale in the Newcastle goal, who was helpless to stop it hitting the back of the net via the inside of the left-hand post.

It was James’ third goal at St James’ Park, and the second direct free-kick he has scored for us in the Premier League. The other was against Bournemouth – a low effort on that occasion which also struck the inside of the post – at the start of 2025.

It was Chelsea’s ninth goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half, more than any other team in the Premier League has managed this season, and it was precisely the moment of quality required to show the Blues were capable of a comeback.

Bossing the middle

From there we seized on Newcastle’s nervousness, gaining the upper hand in the middle of the park and consistently creating dangerous attacking moments.

James was central to that transformation, and by full-time was second only to his midfield partner Moises Caicedo for touches (65) and passes (50).

James was integral to much of our best attacking work, registering a Chelsea-high nine final third entries. Only Pedro Neto of those wearing blue completed more than his 15 passes in the final third of the pitch, with the skipper regularly moving it on to our wingers and getting in the box himself. From one such move he had a dangerous-looking shot blocked.

We did equalise midway through the second half courtesy of a fine individual effort from Joao Pedro, and the closing stages represented Premier League football at its best, with both teams doing their utmost to try and win the game.

Decisive defending

There was no settling for a point by either side. Blows were traded and the game bounced from one end to the other, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez describing it as more akin to a ‘basketball’ game than a football one.

From one well-worked Newcastle counter-attack on 77 minutes, they looked set to retake the lead. Sandro Tonali worked it around the corner to Yoane Wissa, whose through pass dissected our centre-backs and teed up Harvey Barnes.

The Newcastle attacker seemed to have time and space to pick his spot.

However, just a second later, James had eaten up the ground between him and Barnes and executed a perfect challenge to knock the attacker off balance and force the ball behind for a corner (also pictured top).

James had no margin for error, making it all the more impressive he was able to cover that ground at such speed while simultaneously being so decisive with his decision-making.

In total, James won both tackles he attempted and came out on top of four duels. That challenge on Barnes was the most significant, and ensured we returned to London with a point to show for our efforts.

James continues to go from strength to strength this season, and looks as fit and strong as he has in years.

He has now played the full 90 minutes in ten of our past 13 league fixtures, and has already been involved in five Premier League goals this season (two goals, three assists). That is just one fewer than across his three previous campaigns in the competition combined (two goals, four assists).

Those statistics point to James’ attacking contributions this term, while his defensive rigidity and reading of the game remains as impressive as ever. It is no wonder he is earning plaudits from far and wide.