Chelsea forward Joao Pedro haunted former suitors Newcastle United as his side showed their powers of recovery to come back from 2-0 down and claim a point.
It looked a long way back for Chelsea at a raucous St James’ Park after a well-taken double from Nick Woltemade put Newcastle in control at half-time.
But no side have dropped more points – 13 – from winning positions in the Premier League than Newcastle.
So the stadium suddenly felt a little nervy when Chelsea captain Reece James pulled one back with a pinpoint 25-yard free-kick just a few minutes into the second half.
It then turned a little hostile when Newcastle were denied a penalty after Trevoh Chalobah bodychecked Anthony Gordon inside the box before Chelsea equalised.
Pedro, who opted to move to Chelsea ahead of Newcastle last summer, drew his side level. The Brazilian raced through on goal and slotted the ball past Aaron Ramsdale after capitalising on a slip from defender Malick Thiaw.
It set up a grandstand finish as the game became increasingly stretched and Harvey Barnes had a glorious opportunity to win it for Newcastle late on, but the substitute fired wide on the volley to leave head coach Eddie Howe covering his face with his hands on the touchline.
Chelsea remain six points clear of Newcastle in fourth while Howe’s side are in 11th for the time being.