Ramires & Willian save Mourinho's bacon but Chelsea still have big problems

The Blues did well to salvage a point against Newcastle, but familiar issues remain and the Portuguese will be worried by his side's terrible display in the first half

COMMENT By Greg LeaIt is often said that responding well to adversity is the hallmark of champions. A 38-game season is too long for any team to produce dominant displays and emphatic victories week after week, so the ultimate test of a title contender's mettle is said to be how they react to the difficult moments and whether or not they can still pick up points when not playing well. When examined in that light, Chelsea's come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Newcastle United on Saturday could be seen as a decent result. Jose Mourinho's side rallied late on to salvage a point against a much-improved Magpies outfit – who had taken a thoroughly deserved lead through Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum – ensuring they did not leave St James' Park empty-handed despite an appalling first-half performance. In the context of Chelsea's season so far, though, failing to defeat a team who had taken only two points from their opening six Premier League matches and were overcome by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup in midweek was another awful result in a campaign that is already threatening to spiral out of control. Chelsea have already lost as many times in seven matches in 2015-16 as they did throughout the whole of last term. For a long while on Saturday it looked as if three defeats would become four, with Perez's strike and Wijnaldum's header – the 13th and 14th goals conceded by the Blues so far, almost half of the 32 they let in last time out – giving Mourinho's men a mountain to climb. The Blues do deserve credit for the character they displayed to get back into the game, but resolve alone does not win championships. Instead of celebrating the way his side responded, Mourinho must concentrate on putting right the factors that led to such a woeful showing in the first 45 minutes. Newcastle were quick out of the traps, demonstrating a desire that had been conspicuous by its absence in the early weeks of the campaign, and Chelsea's defensive unit simply crumbled under the pressure. Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas once again inadequately protected a back four that has looked shaky ever since the 2-2 draw against Swansea City on the opening day. Kurt Zouma may have been voted man of the match in last weekend's win over Arsenal, but he was as poor on Saturday as he was good at Stamford Bridge. A horrible misjudgement from the Frenchman allowed Perez to grab the game's first goal, with Zouma looking noticeably nervous for a long while after the mistake. It would be interesting to know what John Terry, watching on from the bench, made of the incident. The Chelsea captain clearly lacks the physicality of the imposing Zouma, but the 20-year-old remains raw and susceptible to the type of positional error that Terry rarely makes. Mourinho has not yet provided a satisfactory explanation for the continued absence of the man who, while now 35, was the division's best defender last time out. Further forward, things were not much better. Chelsea were sluggish and blunt in possession, failing to trouble a Newcastle backline that had been breached on nine occasions in the top flight since the start of August. Loic Remy, deputising for the suspended Diego Costa up front, had little impact on the game, while Pedro Rodriguez buzzed around willingly without producing anything in the way of an end product. Oscar, whose ability to knit the midfield and attack together was in evidence against Arsenal and in the Champions League triumph over Maccabi Tel Aviv, was outmuscled by the energetic Jack Colback, and Eden Hazard – voted PFA Player of the Year just a few months ago – continued to look a shadow of his former self. And Mourinho didn't pull any punches. He told Sky Sports, post-match: "In the first half, from zero to 10, [Chelsea were] -1. It was that bad." The defeat of Arsenal last week may have seemed like a turning point, but this performance showed that the Blues remain some way short of the level achieved by almost the same set of players in 2014-15. There's still a long way to go but things must change for Mourinho and Chelsea, and fast. If not, they can almost certainly wave goodbye to the Premier League title. Over to you, Jose.

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