Chelsea grabbed a draw against Newcastle after being 2-0 down at half time after a dreadful 45 minutes.
The Blues improved in the second half in general, but without doubt the key moment was Reece James’ free kick to pull it back to 2-1, which really changed the momentum.
James on free kick secrets after latest stunner
The captain spoke to TNT Sport after the thrilling game, where he noted that it had been a game of two halves, plus various other cliches.
“It was clearly a game of two halves, They got the better of us in every department [in the first half]. We started the second half quickly and the game turned quickly.”
He also spoke more specifically about his superb set piece:
“I have been taking free-kicks all my life. To execute one when we needed to pull something out the bag was a great feeling.”
He also repeated one of the sentiments we hear from Enzo Maresca quite often:
“We couldn’t win today, but it’s important when you can’t win not to lose.”
We don’t love that attitude, but to come back from a game that looked totally looked lost to draw is certainly worthwhile. However, draws don’t win you leagues, and that’s what we need to be aiming for.
You can see the captain speaking after full time in the clip embedded here:
“Many teams come here and the atmosphere gets the better of them”
Reece James reacts to Chelsea's second-half comeback at St James’ Park 🗣️@julesbreach | @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/scLLTPul2X
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 20, 2025
In other news…
Enzo Maresca was in real trouble after that first half – his team simply didn’t turn up, and that’s on him as much as them. The fightback makes things look much more positive in hindsight.
Chelsea aren’t far away from a title challenge, at least in terms of the personnel, according to Peter Crouch and Joe Cole on TNT Sports today. We wonder if Maresca could agree with that?
Wow! That freekick is a top-notched from james