Alan Shearer says Reece James was the game changer in Chelsea’s 2-2 Premier League comeback draw at Newcastle United on Saturday.
Two goals from Nick Woltemade put Newcastle in firm control before James scored an brilliant free-kick from 25 yards out for the away side.
Joao Pedro then netted the equaliser for Chelsea in the 66th minute as both sides gained a point at St James Park in a thrilling match.
‘If you ever need evidence of goals changing games, that’s exactly what happened to Chelsea following Reece James’ free-kick,’ Newcastle icon Shearer told the Premier League website after the draw between the clubs.
‘It just flipped. Newcastle couldn’t get near that Chelsea team [after James’ goal].
‘Chelsea moved it a lot quicker, they had more width, their wingers got into the game and started asking questions, they didn’t do that in the first half.’
James: A great feeling to score that free-kick
James scored the first direct free-kick goal by any player against Newcastle in the Premier League since Raheem Sterling also scored one for Chelsea at St James’ Park in November 2023.
Chelsea captain James has two league goals this season, as many as he netted in 2022-23 (one), 2023-24 (0), and 2024-25 (one) combined.
Speaking to TNT Sports about his superb free-kick after the match, James said: ‘To execute one when we needed to pull something out of the bag was a great feeling.
‘It’s a difficult place to come, many teams come here and the atmosphere gets the better of a lot of teams. It’s important when you can’t win, not to lose.’
Maresca: A top performance from James
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Quizzed about James in his post-match press conference, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said: ‘[It was a] top performance.
‘He played for an hour as a midfielder and for the last half an hour, he was as a full-back. We are happy for him.’
James: It was a game of two halves
Speaking more generally about Chelsea’s draw at Newcastle, James added: ‘It was a game of two halves. In the first half, they got the better of us.
‘Second half we had to review it, change a few things, and we started the second half quick. It turned quickly.
‘The messages [at half-time] were more demanding, more effort… there were too many second balls they won in the first half that we needed to tighten up on. And we did that in the second half.’
