Moussa Sissoko scored twice as Newcastle overcame Chelsea 3-2 in a thriller at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon.
Jonas
Gutierrez flicked a header home to give the Magpies the lead, but Frank
Lampard and Juan Mata turned the game on its head after the break
before Sissoko struck twice to win a massive three points for the
Magpies.
The hosts were unchanged from their 2-1 midweek win over
Aston Villa, while Rafa Benitez elected to play Demba Ba from the start
on his return to St James' Park and gave John Terry a first Premier
League start for nearly three months after a knee injury.
Ba was
booed and jeered whenever the ball went near him in a quiet start that
saw Petr Cech make simple saves from Yoan Gouffran and Davide Santon.
The
visitors worked their way into the match patiently and should have
taken the lead on 15 minutes. Mata's excellent chipped pass found Ashley
Cole on the left whose cut-back came to Lampard 12 yards out, but
the
midfielder lashed over with his left foot.
Alan Pardew's side were
well on top though, Yohan Cabaye warmed Cech's gloves from range and
Papiss Cisse wasted a gilt-edged one-on-one chance with the Czech
shot-stopper.
Cabaye and Santon volleyed efforts wide after
dithering in the Chelsea defence, but the atmosphere was cranked up to
another notch on the half-hour as Ramires launched into Gutierrez
two-footed, but only picking up a booking.
Ba then found himself
with a great chance to silence the home support as he raced clear on
Krul off Lampard's pass, but he fired his first effort at the Dutchman
and nodding his follow-up wide while being caught in the face by
Coloccini's boot.
Cisse wasted another one-on-one after Sissoko's
effort was charged down, but the home fans were soon cheering as
Santon's cross from the left was flicked home by Gutierrez to give the
Toon a richly-deserved lead.
Ba had played on after his challenge
with Coloccini, despite appearing to have broken his nose and having a
bandage applied, although he was substituted immediately after the goal,
with Fernando Torres replacing him.
After 10 quiet second-half
minutes the tie was leveled by Lampard in stunning fashion as the
35-year-old let a throw-in from the left run across his body before
launching a 30-yard rocket past Krul.
The visitors were soon in
front as Branislav Ivanovic charged down the right before finding Torres
in the box. The Chelsea No.9 set the ball for Mata who curled a perfect
effort into the far corner.
Newcastle was flagging but it rallied
magnificently and, after Cisse was denied by a great intervention from
John Terry, drew level as Yoann Gouffran was set clear by a long
clearance. His effort was parried by Cech into the path of Sissoko who
gleefully tucked home on his home debut.
Both sides pushed for a
late winner and it was Newcastle who found it as Santon burst down the
left before cutting back to Sissoko who thundered a low effort past
Cech.
The visitors almost equalized late in the day but Steven
Taylor bravely blocked Lamaprd's effort to cap off a stunning afternoon
of football.
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