Chelsea find themselves two points behind Manchester United at the top of the Premiership after being held 1-1 by Newcastle at St James' Park. Newcastle had the best possible start courtesy of a defensive howler by Alex whose misjudged back pass allowed Andy Carroll to poke the ball into an empty net.
The home side had the better of the first half against a poor Chelsea display but on the stroke of half time the Premier League Champions equalised to give them a leveller they barely deserved.
Salomon Kalou got on the end of Malouda's pass to finish confidently and whilst the visitor's improved after the break they failed to find the winner which would have seen them leapfrog Manchester United.
Overall though a draw was a fair result and Chelsea prevented three consecutive league defeats for the first time since 1999.
Referee: Andre Marriner
Venue: St James' Park Attendance: 46,469
Newcastle scorers: Carroll 6 Chelsea scorers: Kalou 45
NEWCASTLE 26 Krul 03 Jose Enrique 05 Campbell 12 Simpson 27 Taylor 08 Guthrie (yellow card) 10 Routledge 18 Gutierrez 24 Tiote (yellow card) 09 Carroll 23 Ameobi (Ranger 77)
Substitutes 33 Soderberg, 14 Perch, 28 Kadar, 17 Smith, 11 Lovenkrands, 20 Best, 30 Ranger
CHELSEA 01 Cech 02 Ivanovic 03 A Cole 17 Bosingwa 33 Alex 07 Ramires (yellow card) 12 Mikel (Sturridge 80) 15 Malouda 11 Drogba 21 Kalou 39 Anelka
Substitutes 22 Turnbull, 19 Ferreira, 38 Van Aanholt, 43 Bruma, 46 McEachran, 23 Sturridge, 44 Kakuta
