INCONSISTENCY has been the watchword for both these clubs this season. Newcastle are hard to beat at home but brittle on the road; Chelsea are hit and miss wherever they play. Thus, it seemed fitting that they served up an archetypal game of two halves.

The Magpies looked determined to erase the memory of their derby defeat six days ago, no-one more so than Nick Woltemade, the scorer of the own goal that settled that game.

It took him just four minutes to open the scoring, hammering home after great work down the right from Jacob Murphy. Buoyed by a supportive crowd, he added a second on 20 minutes, poking home Anthony Gordon’s from the other flank. 

There was a wait of several minutes for VAR Peter Bankes to confirm Woltemade was onside. Would it have been a clear and obvious error if the German hadn’t been? The simple answer is no, begging the question why it took so long.

The goal given, it looked like there would be only one winner. Newcastle were at, or at least very near, the best they’ve been this season. While they were cruising in fifth gear, Chelsea were struggling to get out of second.

The second half was a different affair. This time it was Chelsea on the scoresheet four minutes after the restart. Reece James curling in a superb freekick from 30 yards.

Minutes later, Trevor Chalobah barged Gordon to floor in the area but Bankes, taking considerably less time than over the offside check determined it was not a penalty. 

“Anywhere else on the pitch that’s a blatant free kick,” said Toon boss Eddie Howe. “It’s a clear a penalty as I’ve seen. This one decision was wrong, that’s where VAR really should intervene.”

The Magpies have dropped 13 points from winning positions this season. A third goal might have settled their nerves, instead there was a growing sense of anxiety in the stands and on the pitch.

Those fears were realised when Joao Pedro outfought Malick Thiaw to reach a long ball from Robert Sanchez and then converted his one-on-one past Aaron Ramsdale.

“We had the chances, played with real energy, intensity and quality. It’s a huge disappointment we didn’t win,” said a clearly disappointed Howe.

“I think after the first half, they deserved to win the game for sure, but after the second half, we deserved to win,” said his counterpart, Enzo Maresca.