Newcastle 2-2 Chelsea: Chelsea fight back to deny Steve McClaren first win

Late goals from substitutes Ramires and Willian denied Newcastle their first win of the season as Chelsea fought back to claim a 2-2 draw at St James' Park.

Steve McClaren's side were much the better team in the first 45 minutes of the Saturday Night Football contest in the Premier League and the Magpies took the lead in the 42nd minute thanks to Ayoze Perez's strike.

Chelsea came out with renewed intensity after the interval but they found themselves 2-0 down when Georginio Wijnaldum stole a march on the Chelsea defence to head home Perez's cross.

Jose Mourinho reacted by throwing on Ramires and Willian and it was the Brazilian substitutes who came to the Portuguese manager's rescue with two strikes in the last 11 minutes to earn a point.

Ramires could have won it late on but was denied by Tim Krul and the result means McClaren is still awaiting his first Premier League win as Newcastle boss, while Mourinho is still yet to taste victory in the league at St James' Park. 

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With Diego Costa serving the second of his three-match ban, Mourinho picked Loic Remy ahead of Radamel Falcao and he was nearly rewarded in the 12th minute when the Frenchman turned Branislav Ivanovic's cross goalwards, only to see the ball flash wide of the near post.

Newcastle responded through Wijnaldum as he easily beat Ivanovic for pace before whipping in a cross for the returning Aleksandar Mitrovic, who got above Gary Cahill but could not direct his header inside the far post.

It was the home side who looked the better of the two sides and they would have been ahead were it not for a double save from Asmir Begovic in the 29th minute.

The Bosnian goalkeeper first denied Perez and just seconds later got down low to his left to keep out Daryl Janmaat's effort.

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In the 38th minute, Cesc Fabregas tested Krul from distance but the Dutch goalkeeper palmed the ball away to safety.

Minutes later, there were shouts from the visitors for a penalty as the ball hit Moussa Sissoko's arm in the penalty area but Martin Atkinson was well positioned to wave away the appeal.

Despite that, it was a half to forget for Mourinho's men and Newcastle's dominance was finally rewarded when Perez took advantage of poor defending from Kurt Zouma and Ivanovic to bring Vurnon Anita's long ball down and fire it past Begovic.

After the break, Chelsea started brightly with Fabregas picking out Remy, his header brilliantly saved by Krul, despite the linesman's flag being raised.

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Chelsea were seeing plenty of the ball with Eden Hazard becoming more influential but he could not beat league debutant Kevin Mbabu, who put in an excellent challenge to thwart the Belgium international's driving run at goal.

However, it was Newcastle who struck next as Wijnaldum escaped Fabregas in the penalty area to nod home Perez's cross in the 60th minute.

Mourinho responded by bringing on Willian and Falcao for Nemanja Matic and Remy, but it was not until the introduction of Ramires in the 73rd minute that Chelsea sprung to life.

The Brazilian midfielder had an immediate impact, thumping a powerful 25-yard effort into the top corner with 11 minutes remaining.

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Pedro had wasted a glorious opportunity to level just minutes later but they got their equaliser in the 86th minute when Willian deceived Krul with a curling free-kick to snatch a point.

Ramires could have sealed all three points and his manager's first win at St James' Park in the 89th minute but his header was superbly saved by Krul as Newcastle held on for a point.

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Player ratings

Newcastle: Krul (7), Janmaat (7), Mbemba (8), Coloccini (7), Mbabu (7), Sissoko (7), Anita (8), Colback (6), Wijnaldum (7), Perez (8), Mitrovic (7).

Subs used: Obertan (6), De Jong (5), Toney (5).

Chelsea: Begovic (6), Ivanovic (5), Zouma (5), Cahill (6), Azpilicueta (6), Matic (6), Fabregas (7), Pedro (6), Oscar (6), Hazard (7), Remy (5).

Subs: Ramires (7), Willian (8), Falcao (5).

Man of the Match: Vurnon Anita