Pedro punishes Toon in thriller

JOAO PEDRO denied Newcastle victory as Chelsea came from behind to snatch a Premier League draw at St James' Park.

- BY DAMIEN SPELLMAN

Nick Woltemade's double had the Magpies 2-0 up within 20 minutes, but Eddie Howe's men wilted amid a second-half fight back, fuelled by the pace and trickery of Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro, after Reece James' curling free-kick reduced the deficit.

However, it was Pedro who ensured his side left with a deserved point when he fired home a 66th-minute equaliser to end a run of three successive league defeats for the Blues on Tyneside.

Newcastle needed just four minutes to get their noses in front when Sandro Tonali won possession in the middle of the field to allow Bruno Guimaraes to feed Jacob Murphy down the right and, although keeper Robert Sanchez did well to block Anthony Gordon's attempt at the far post, Woltemade followed up to smash the rebound into the roof of the net.