Newcastle 2 Chelsea 2 - What did Maresca say at half-time? How did Gordon not earn penalty in thrilling draw?

Joao Pedro celebrates scoring Chelsea's equaliser Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

At half-time, Newcastle United were going some way to building bridges with their support and in the process increasing the spotlight on Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 lead.

Nick Woltemade, who scored the own goal that saw Eddie Howe's team lose to fierce rivals Sunderland, scored twice in the first 20 minutes as Maresca's team were bullied in the first half.

Maresca, who The Athletic revealed is high up on Manchester City's list to replace Pep Guardiola if he leaves this summer, could barely believe what he was watching. Yet in the second period they were transformed and stormed back to claim a point thank to goals from Reece James and Joao Pedro.

Newcastle were in front in the fourth minute. Anthony Gordon robbed Wesley Fofana of possession and Jacob Murphy's cross was converted by Woltemade after Robert Sanchez had brilliantly kept out Gordon's initial shot.

Sanchez then made another stunning save to deny Gordon a second but Newcastle and Woltemade did not have to wait long for a second. In the 20th minute, Gordon's cross was flicked home by the giant German and the goal was eventually given after a lengthy VAR check for offside with the semi-automated technology down during the three minutes it took to award it.

Woltemade should have completed his hat-trick before the break when he fired wide of the far post with Chelsea furious play had not been stopped with Cole Palmer lying on the floor. It summed up Chelsea's first period.

Whatever Maresca said at the break it worked within four minutes as James curled a 30-yard free-kick beyond Aaron Ramsdale.

Newcastle were then denied a penalty when Trevoh Chalobah appeared to barge over Gordon and that proved costly when Joao Pedro levelled in the 66th minute. He cushioned Sanchez's long punt forward with his head and then took advantage of Malick Thiaw's slip to race clear and finish.

There was still time for chances at either end, Alejandro Garnacho denied by Ramsdale and Harvey Barnes volleying inches wide as both teams chased a winner. One, somehow, never came.

The Athletic's Chris Waugh, George Caulkin and Cerys Jones analyse a magnificent match.

At half-time, Chelsea had shown almost no indication of how they could recover what was shaping up to be a demoralising defeat. They were second to every loose ball, weaker in every duel, and lacked creativity.

How, then, did effectively the same team turn it around? The only change before the goals was Enzo Fernandez replacing Malo Gusto shortly into the second half.

That added a more vocal, intense, physical presence in midfield -- but fundamentally, the difference between Chelsea's halves came down to urgency. Joao Pedro's second goal summed it up.

Sanchez opted for directness, gambling on a long ball to Joao Pedro, who was Chelsea's only player in Newcastle's half. The Brazil forward did well not to rush under pressure from Thiaw and though the Newcastle defender's slip gave him the chance to pull away, that mistake took nothing away from Joao Pedro's composure as he slotted the ball past an onrushing Ramsdale.

It showed the directness, composure, and urgency that Chelsea had completely missed in the first half. Maresca's triumphant reaction -- and the fact he immediately turned to congratulate Sanchez -- was an interesting reflection on his growing ability to adapt his principles. From his celebration, you would never have known this was a manager who once threatened to substitute his goalkeeper if he started playing long balls.

Cerys Jones

After a hellish week, Woltemade and Gordon responded in a manner which was necessary and decisive.

Woltemade had scored that extraordinary headed own-goal in Newcastle's dismal 1-0 defeat at Sunderland and been generally ineffectual while Gordon picked the worst occasion possible to deliver one of his worst performances for the club.

Six days on from their derby debacle, the two players were transformed. Neither had started the nervy, narrow Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Fulham and both played as if they had a point -- several points -- to prove.

At half-time against Chelsea, Woltemade had scored two goals and touched the ball 19 times, including five times in the opposition box, considerably more than he managed in the entire game against their local rivals. He was involved, engaged, active; everything you would want from a modern forward.

His first finish was instinctive, shooting into an empty net when Sanchez denied Gordon. The second was a glorious first-time flick, again teed up Gordon. The Germany international now has nine goals in all competitions for Newcastle this season; this was the first time he had scored more than one in a game and there should have been others.

Gordon was brilliant, a creator of goals but also the team's tempo-setter. When he robbed Wesley Fofana of the ball it initiated the break which brought Woltemade his fourth-minute opener, giving it to Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes playing it wide to Jacob Murphy who crossed with precision.

It was Gordon's cross after cutting in which made Woltemade's second. His pressing and aggression and attitude stood out as a huge contrast to the Stadium of Light. He should have won a penalty, too.

This is what they are both capable of. They need to show it more often.

George Caulkin

Like their performance in the 3-1 defeat to Leeds United this month, Chelsea looked inexplicably unprepared for the intensity of the game -- and saw their soft defensive underbelly exposed in the first half.

Finally settling on a first-choice centre-back combination of Fofana and Chalobah looked to have brought some stability to Chelsea's defence, but the entire back line was well off the pace for both of Woltemade's goals.

The move for the opener started with Fofana having his pocket picked as he tried to carry the ball into midfield, and the failure to clear their lines on multiple occasions gave Woltemade the perfect chance to whip up the home crowd. For his second, their failure to track Woltemade's run was poor.

The ill-discipline of earlier this season crept back in too. Garnacho, Sanchez, and Malo Gusto all picked up first-half bookings.

These are the bad habits that have threatened to derail games for Chelsea. The positive was that Maresca's side, who looked in danger of a total collapse, responded superbly in the second half.

Cerys Jones

In the 53rd minute, Newcastle should have had the opportunity to restore their two-goal lead almost immediately from the spot.

Gordon was played into the right-hand side of the box and, with the ball heading towards the byline, he stopped to shield it. Chalobah came sprinting across and, making no attempt whatsoever to play the ball, went beyond shoulder to shoulder with Gordon, also crashing into his leg and essentially throwing the Newcastle winger into the advertising hoardings at the Gallowgate End.

Newcastle were adamant it was a penalty, with their bench furious at referee Andy Madley's decision to ignore their pleas, before a VAR check from Peter Bankes also opted against recommending that the official in charge take a closer look.

Having spent an age determining whether Woltemade was onside for his second goal, it seemed like this incident received scant scrutiny from the video team for a call which could have decisively tipped the match back into Newcastle's favour.

Chalobah did not even look like he was trying to play the ball, so how was it not a spot-kick.

There is no doubt that defensive injuries really are biting for Newcastle now -- and hurting them.

For the first time in the Howe era, Newcastle have gone 10 top-flight games without keeping a clean sheet. It is their worst run in the Premier League since August to November 2021, when a 14-match stretch spanned the tenures of Steve Bruce (eight games), Graeme Jones (three) and Howe (three).

Staggeringly, Newcastle actually began the campaign in impressively mean fashion, keeping five shutouts inside their opening seven league games. But since then, Nick Pope started to make glaring mistakes and was then sidelined through injury, before being followed by Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, Sven Botman et al on to the treatment table.

Lewis Hall returned against his former club Chelsea following tightness in his hamstring, but he was one of only three fit senior defenders Howe could field on Saturday alongside Fabian Schar and Thiaw.

Lewis Miley, a 19-year-old midfielder, filled in more-than-ably at right-back for the second game in succession, but Newcastle are beyond stretched in defence now.

This lack of solidity is costing them and Newcastle have dropped 13 points from winning positions this season, the joint-most in the top flight alongside Brentford. Had they maintained all of those leads, they would be level on points with pacesetters Arsenal, rather than stuck in 11th.

Yet holding on to even half of those points would put Newcastle in the Champions League qualification positions, alongside fourth-placed Chelsea.

Instead, Newcastle just keep shipping goals and that is why they have only won back-to-back games once so far this season in the Premier League. Their inconsistency is exasperating and the inability to hold on to a lead is as infuriating as it is costly.

Chris Waugh

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.