Newcastle 2-3

Independent:

Rafael Benitez in denial as Moussa Sissoko and Newcastle United expose the truth about Chelsea

Martin Hardy

You can, at least, not fault the defiance of Rafa Benitez. He again proved immovable, unlike his side. "We could have won every single game we draw or we lost, every single game," he insisted after yesterday's defeat. "In all the games we had chances and played good football in the majority of them. When we couldn't we still had chances to win."
Fact: Chelsea have picked up 22 points from a possible 39 during his reign, two points less than Roberto di Matteo picked up from one less game this season.
"We are trying to finish in the top four, or top three, and we can," added Benitez. "We are still looking up towards Manchester City. With some players coming back I think we have more options. When we are in form and doing well we can beat anyone."
Fact: Chelsea have won three games out of their previous 10 in all competitions.
"I was really pleased with the reaction of the players," said the interim manager of Chelsea. "That is the main thing for me. The players showed character in the second half. It means something is right. If we cannot control these games, it is something we will have to improve."
Fact: they were gun-ho, leaving gaping holes all over their defence and allowing Newcastle to fight back from a lost position.
With Rafa there is always a "but".
Frank Lampard's goal tally reached double figures for the 10th season running, a quite phenomenal achievement, with a breathtaking strike in the 54th minute
"I'm here to talk about the game," said Benitez when asked about the fact Lampard is set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.
There was, and indeed still is, some sympathy for Benitez. His looked a losing hand when he succeeded Di Matteo.
Yesterday, a crucial decision went against him. Demba Ba had seen a shot saved by Tim Krul when the ball came back to him in the Newcastle penalty area. He headed the rebound narrowly wide. As he lowered his head, Fabricio Coloccini's desperate attempt at a saving tackle saw him smash his former team-mate in the face.
"We couldn't change the situation of Demba Ba," he added. "It was a penalty and a red card for me. In the middle of the park [it would be] carry on, go back, free-kick. In the penalty area [it would be] carry on, go back, penalty and red card. It would have changed the game. We lost one player with a broken nose.
"It is something we have to consider. In other circumstances everybody would be talking about this. I want to remind you that that happened. Sometimes we don't remember these things. After watching the replay it is very clear. A player with a nose broken and bleeding for five minutes I think is good evidence. Demba has a broken nose and we will have to wait and see."
Ba received lengthy treatment. Eventually, with his face taped up, he returned to the game. It was short- lived. By the time he was forced to leave the field, to cruel jeers from the majority of Newcastle supporters, his new club were behind. Davide Santon had crossed from the left and Jonas Gutierrez stole in ahead of a flat-footed John Terry to glance a header past Petr Cech.
Lampard had missed a fine opportunity after just quarter-of-an-hour but on 55 minutes made amends in style, crashing a 25-yard shot past Krul. At that point Benitez was correct. Chelsea took control. A second, delightful goal would come their way just past the hour, Fernando Torres, who entered as Ba went off, laid the ball to Juan Mata and the finish was precise, curling into the top corner of the Newcastle goal.
At this point Benitez needed his new team for once to speak up for his endless work on the training ground. They did not.
Moussa Sissoko, the January signing from Toulouse, had become an increasing presence in the game. In the 68th minute, when fellow home debutant Yoan Gouffran broke free of an absent Chelsea defence and saw his shot parried by Cech, Sissoko was there to equalise.
That was the end for the visitors. Newcastle had new energy. In the 90th minute Sissoko passed to Santon, took the return and drilled a fierce, low drive into Cech's goal.
"It is undoubtedly the game of the season," said Alan Pardew. "It was fabulous. I do not think we will better that. When you play the top sides, it is important to knock them out of their stride.
"We got the goal and in the second half Chelsea came out and showed why they had such fabulous players. We struggled for 15 minutes. They were two unbelievable goals. It can knock the stuffing out of sides but we didn't let that happen. We had intelligence. We got a breakaway and then we were back in the game. It was a fantastic winning goal. It nearly took the roof off. The whole team was magnificent. Sissoko? I don't really need to say too much. His performance spoke for itself."
Something Benitez's Chelsea still cannot do.

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Observer:

Newcastle's Moussa Sissoko shatters Chelsea with last-gasp winner
Paul Wilson at St James' Park

This was one of the best games of the season, a marvellously entertaining and eventful contest between two well-matched sides. Whether that flatters Newcastle or Chelsea most is a moot point, given their respective positions in the table, though it would appear the home side's latest top-up of French talent has restored the feelgood factor on Tyneside. That was true even before Moussa Sissoko rifled home a last-minute winner. That sort of finale always send a crowd home happy, though even before that Newcastle had shown guts to climb back into the game at a point in the second half when Chelsea looked capable of running away with it. While it is not quite true these days to say not many teams come back against Chelsea, few will manage it when the Blues are playing this well.
"It was an unbelievable game, I'm not sure I can remember one as good," Alan Pardew said. "We were hit by two unbelievable goals too, but we were not to be denied. To play so well against a team as good as Chelsea will give this place a real lift."
With two goals on his home debut, Sissoko proved an instant hit, as well as looking an absolute steal at £1.8m, though Newcastle were so wasteful in the first half that Pardew must half been preparing an interval pep talk on the importance of turning pressure into goals until Jonás Gutiérrez relieved the situation with a lovely header four minutes before the break.
It was not that Newcastle were not creating opportunities, it was the fact they were missing gilt-edged invitations to score that was visibly driving their manager wild. Papiss Cissé was foiled by a decent save from Petr Cech midway through the first half, though with only the goalkeeper to beat from a good position it was hardly the clinical finish we have come to expect from the Senegal striker. Sissoko should have done better than shoot too high after half an hour, then Cissé squandered the best chance of the lot, again allowing Cech to save when the ball dropped perfectly for him near the penalty spot.
It appeared the home side might be in for a frustrating afternoon, though the goal they eventually scored was not only high quality it was a superb finish from a player who is not a prolific scorer. Much of the credit should go to Davide Santon for an excellent right-foot cross from the left wing, one that Gutiérrez attacked with much more conviction than Gary Cahill or John Terry, beating the latter to the ball to send a glancing header into Cech's bottom left corner.
Not even Chelsea fans could deny that a goal had been coming, and the visitors were hardly cheered by the simultaneous forced departure of Demba Ba with a bloodied nose. Naturally the Chelsea striker received scant sympathy from his former public after receiving an accidental boot in the face from Fabricio Coloccini, though his former manager could afford to be diplomatic. "He's not a bad looking boy, but I think he might be needing a bit of surgery," Pardew said. "He was having a good game."
Rafa Benítez was predictably less generous, and might have had a point. "It should have been a penalty and a red card," the Chelsea manager said. It certainly could have been, though like the player he injured, Coloccini was going for a loose ball at head height after Tim Krul had kept out Ba's initial shot, and did not have his opponent in direct view. "It had to be dangerous play," Benítez argued. "A broken nose and five minutes of bleeding is evidence."
Chelsea can also score spectacular goals from midfield, and the reliably prolific Frank Lampard came up with one of his very best to level early in the second half. Not much looked on as Ashley Cole took a throw in on the left, indeed the full-back hesitated when the ball was returned to him as if he could not see a pass worth making, but once he chipped the ball inside to Lampard, a sublime turn past Yohan Cabaye transformed a static situation and no sooner had space opened up than Krul was being beaten by a venomously dipping, early shot from just outside the penalty area. Seven minutes later, after Lampard had headed straight into Krul's arms from Juan Mata's teasing cross, Chelsea were in front. Again the finish was of the highest quality, Mata taking a short pass from Fernando Torres and striking a curling shot from the angle of the area so sweetly that he was wheeling away in celebration before the ball had even crossed the line.
Now it was Newcastle's turn to show character and they duly hit back with an equaliser. Yoan Gouffran showed a turn of speed to outstrip the Chelsea cover, and though his shot never seemed likely to beat Cech, Sissoko was on hand to tuck away the rebound with a calmness that ought to have made Cissé blush.
Not for the first time in the pandemonium peculiar to this ground, inflamed passions spilled over to the technical areas, where a heated argument broke out between the two sets of coaching assistants shortly after the fourth goal. Directly after the third goal Cissé and Cole had both been booked for unnecessarily squaring up to each other, but peace had broken out by the time Santon set up his second goal of the afternoon, this time with a simple square pass inside the area that Sissoko emphatically thumped home.
Never think St James' Park cannot possibly get any louder, because it always can. All it takes is something worth cheering.

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Telegraph:

Newcastle United 3 Chelsea 2
Luke Edwards

Newcastle United toasted a new hero after a magnificent match-winning home debut from Moussa Sissoko, while Chelseacould soon be looking for yet another manager as the pressure grows on Rafael Benítez.
The London club, who have now won one game in six, were poor in the first half, much better at the start of the second, yet still managed to lose a game they had fought back to lead, thanks to sumptuous strikes from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata. Sissoko inspired the comeback that had St James’ Park enthralled.
Just as Chelsea did at Reading in their last game, Benitez’s side have thrown away three points from a winning position.
The Spaniard, an unpopular replacement for Roberto Di Matteo, is now fighting just to remain as interim manager until the end of the season.
Even when they play well, as Chelsea did for 30 minutes after half-time, they are still failing to control games in the manner expected of such an experienced and expensively assembled squad.
When Mata scored their second goal, curling the ball into the top corner after Lampard had found the net with a thunderous long-range strike, Chelsea’s fans chose to remind their hosts that they are the champions of Europe.
But that title was earned last year and the way they surrendered that lead was very much indicative of their current status.
If they are not careful, the memory of that famous victory in Munich will provide scant comfort should Chelsea miss out on a top-four finish in May.
“We are still aiming for the top three or four,” said Benítez when asked about the growing pressure on him. “The reaction of the players in the second half was fantastic and that was really pleasing.
“What we have to improve is how we manage situations like this. We allowed them to play on the counter-attack when we were leading the game.”
It has been a season full of suffering on Tyneside, but Newcastle appear to have found the perfect painkiller in the January transfer window. Sissoko was the star performer, although Mathieu Debuchy at right-back and Yoan Gouffran – another January acquisition – on the right side of midfield were almost as impressive.
The plan had been to sign Sissoko on a free transfer at the end of the season, but Newcastle, wary of their precarious league position, instead persuaded Toulouse to release him early for a little more than £2 million.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a better home debut,” Pardew said. “I’ve seen two players since I’ve been here who I’ve been desperate to sign. One is Yohan Cabaye, one is Moussa.
“What a magnificent player he is and he has already brought us a power and a presence we have lacked. He’s going to be a massive signing for us. This was a fabulous game and a brilliant result.”
Jonás Gutiérrez had given Newcastle the deserved lead in the first half when he beat John Terry to Davide Santon’s cross.
By then Papiss Cissé had already missed a wonderful chance when he shot weakly, allowing Petr Cech to save, while Sissoko had fired over the bar after a sweeping counter-attack.
Chelsea had also missed chances. Lampard blazed wildly over the bar from Ashley Cole’s pull back, before Demba Ba had two chances to beat Tim Krul, shooting straight at the Dutch goalkeeper before heading the rebound wide.
The Senegal striker suffered a painful return to St James’ Park. Caught full in the face by Fabricio Coloccini while going for that header, Ba’s nose was smashed and forced him off before half-time.
That gave Benítez a chance to divert attention from the defeat, but his was not an entirely convincing argument. “It was a penalty and a red card,” he said. “If that happened in the middle of the park, play would have been brought back, a free-kick given and a red card shown.
“It should not be different just because it’s in the area. He has kicked him in the face, broken his nose and he is bleeding all over the place.”
By the same logic, it could be argued that Ramires should have been sent off for a two-footed lunge on Gutiérrez. Contentious refereeing decisions cannot disguise the fact that Newcastle, over the 90 minutes, deserved to win and to move further away from relegation trouble.
Sissoko scored his first goal when he tapped in a rebound after Gouffran’s effort had been well saved. Sissoko was then denied a second by Cech’s fingertips after the midfielder had sprinted past Cole.
However, the Chelsea goalkeeper could not keep out Sissoko’s low shot in the 90th minute after Santon had picked him out running in from the edge of the area.

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Times:

Newcastle 3 Chelsea 2: Sissoko’s instant hit
Nick Townsend

IT TAKES something special to make yourself the instant hero here. But in the words of manager Alan Pardew, Moussa Sissoko “walked into this club like a giant and played like giant.” The Frenchman’s brace, including a winner as added time beckoned, was followed by joyous scenes in front of the dug-out with his new team-mates, as the Toon Army rejoiced at the capture of the man from Toulose and reflected: Demba who?
 The Chelsea striker returned to the club he had departed only four weeks ago, after the Blues had met his £7m buy-out clause. He left with a broken nose after a first-half incident when he was kicked in the face, accidentally, by Fabricio Coloccini.
 Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez insisted it should have led to a penalty and red card for the Newcastle captain. He will be more concerned, however, that metaphorically, Chelsea were left again with a bloodied nose, which leaves the interim manager’s position looking vulnerable.


As easy as un, deux, trois for Newcastle, recording their second victory in a week? Well, not exactly. Chelsea recovered from Jonas Gutierrez’s opener, to establish a lead with two goals in a five-minute spell — the first from Frank Lampard, his 197th Chelsea goal, which takes him to only five behind Bobby Tambling’s all-time record for the Londoners of 202 — but they just didn’t have the stamina to cope with Newcastle who found a resurgence of belief.
 It was an impassioned affair. Howard Webb had to deal with an altercation between Papiss Cisse and Ashley Cole after Chelsea’s second goal when the former put his hands round the England man’s throat and there was also some kindergarten stuff between the benches over a throw-in.
 Newcastle had proudly introduced their parade of new French signings, with three in the starting line-up and one on the bench.
 Newcastle defender Steven Taylor says he’s learning a bit of French. At the rate Pardew & Co have delved into the French market and the impact they had yesterday he ought to make it his first language.
 Pardew went for a 4-2-2-1-1 line-up: four Frenchman, two Argentinians, two English, an Italian and a Sengalese.
 Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran and Mathieu Debuchy, together with substitute Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa all made their debuts in Tuesday’s win at Aston Villa, and in an unchanged starting eleven, all made contributions.
 An early Gouffran challenge on Ramires immediately endeared him to the home crowd. His energy and footwork impressed, too. Newcastle went close, but Cabaye from range, and Cisse from close in failed to worry Petr Cech. Then Debuchy volleyed wide and Cisse cleared the bar.
 With the crowd baying for a red card after Ramires lunged into a challenge with Gutierrez, he was only cautioned by referee Howard Webb. Then, just after the half hour, Lampard released Ba with a beautiful ball. Brushing off Coloccini’s challenge, Tim Krul thwarted him with a fine save and as he headed the rebound narrowly wide, he took a kick in the face from the Newcastle defender for his pains.
 With Ba still off the pitch receiving treatment for a bloody nose, United nearly profited after that escape when Cisse found himself clear and with only Cech to beat. The Chelsea goalkeeper anticipated him with a diving save.
 However, Cech could do nothing about Gutierrez’s opener. The Argentinian got the better of John Terry to despatch a deft header from Davide Santon’s cross wide of the goalkeeper. Immediately after the goal, Ba’s facial injury forced him to retire, and he was replaced by the shaven-headed Fernando Torres.
 Whatever Benitez’s words were in the interval, they had the desired effect.

Chelsea snapped out of their torpor. Or was it simply that United, not for the first time this season, sat on their lead? They did it in their last home match when succumbing to Reading, and here again Chelsea seized the initiative.
 Cole poked a ball through to Lampard who, out on the left wing, eluded a challenge before whipping a glorious across Krul for the equaliser.
 Seconds later, Juan Mata’s cross found Lampard but his header was straight the home goalkeeper before Branislav Ivanovic surged down the right, and pulled the ball back for Torres who laid on a chance for Mata to curl the ball artfully around Krul.
 Pardew’s men looked stunned. But they responded magnificently. Gouffran surged deep into the visitors’ territory before dispatching a cracking effort which Cech parried. Sissoko dashed in to head an equaliser into an unguarded net.
 Again on the break, Sissoko just had the beating of Cole — no mean feat that — but his goal-bound drive was diverted wide by Cech. Sissoko was in again, but this time shot directly at Cech.
 But as added time approached Santon again was the provider, setting up Sissoko to drive the ball unerringly past Cech.
 It was pandemonium. There were late Chelsea claims for a penalty rejected by Webb. But Newcastle weren’t going to let this one slip.

 Newcastle: Krul 6, Debuchy 7, S Taylor 6, Coloccini 6, Santon 7, Cabaye 8, Perch 6, Gutierrez 7, Sissoko 9 (Yanga-Mbiwa 90 min), Gouffran 7 (Marveaux 84min), Cisse 6

 Chelsea: Cech 7, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 6, Cole 7, Ramires 6, Lampard 7, Oscar 6, Mata 7, Bertrand 6, Ba 6 (Torres 43min, 5)

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Mail:

Newcastle 3 Chelsea 2: The French revolution gathers pace as Sissoko stuns Benitez
By BOB CASS

Alan Pardew ended a momentous week for Newcastle United by lauding the player whose two goals made him a new hero for the Toon Army. The manager said of Moussa Sissoko: 'He walked into this club last week like a giant - and today he played like a giant.'
Forget the puns and the mickeytaking that flooded the social networks when Pardew crossed the Channel to search for soccer salvation. And if La Marseillaise replaces the Blaydon Races as the new Geordie anthem, nobody should be surprised.
Because when Pardew splashed out on five more Frenchmen in the transfer window to arrest his team's plunge towards the relegation zone, many questioned the wisdom of his death-or-glory gamble.
Well, if there are more like Sissoko, signed from Toulouse for £1.8million - the cheapest buy on a shopping list that totalled just under £20m, Pardew can start queuing up at the payout window.
'I thought his performance said it all,' said Pardew. 'I remember watching him in Toulouse maybe 14 months ago and I came away thinking he was definitely one for us. We set our sights on him early and then we accelerated it because the intention was for him to come in the summer but we've had to do it now. And he's paying us back handsomely.
'He announced his presence in the game, not just with his technical quality but his power and that's something which has sadly been missing from the team.'
If it was Sissoko's contribution that provided the headline-grabbing finale, the foundations for victory were laid by a combination of quality, technique and a pressing game which never allowed the opposition the time to settle into a rhythm.
The impressive Yohan Cabaye was the launchpad of United pressure and he played an important role in the move which ended with Jonas Gutierrez glancing a header from Davide Santon's cross out of Petr Cech's reach.
It was the Argentinian's first goal of the season and how he celebrated: crossing himself and pointing to the heavens. But two Chelsea goals in six minutes after the break swung the game in the visitors' favour. For a player who, supposedly, will be persona non grata at Chelsea after the season ends, Frank Lampard is racking up enough records to ensure he will be a lot tougher to remove from Stamford Bridge posterity than the dressing room.
He now stands five goals short of Bobby Tambling's club record of 202 and there have been few better than the 55th-minute strike that brought Chelsea level. He collected a chipped pass from Ashley Cole on the left, shimmied past a challenge and crashed a right-footer into the roof of the net from 20 yards. Lampard's goal gave him the added distinction of becoming the first player to reach double figures in 10 consecutive Premier League seasons.
And when Juan Mata stroked a curling left-footer wide of Tim Krul's despairing right hand, it looked as if Newcastle's early gritty domination was doomed to failure.
But from adversity came even more determination and it brought its reward in the 68th minute, when Cech parried Yoan Gouffran's low shot into the path of Sissoko, who slipped the ball into an empty net.
The French midfielder's winner was as spectacular as it was superbly timed, 50 seconds from the end of normal time. Santon was again the provider, pulling back a cross for Sissoko to beat the Chelsea keeper with a 20-yard daisycutter.
'It was a massive win for us,' said Pardew. 'To come back like that was outstanding. It was an unbelievable game. Truly I can't remember seeing a game as good as that.
'We were great in the first half. We deserved to have the lead. In the second half Chelsea came out and showed what they are - world-class players - and we conceded two unbelievable goals. Usually when you get goals like that, it knocks the stuffing out of a team.
'But we wouldn't let that happen. We stayed in the game and got a breakaway goal and won it with one which took the roof off the place.
'If you're going to beat the top teams you have to put them under pressure and we did that. But you can't keep a great team down and they came back at us. With the quality we showed we deserved to win.'


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Mirror:

Newcastle 3-2 Chelsea match report Tres bien! Sissoko double earns Newcastle needed victory over Chelsea
By Brian McNally

The Toon Army rose as one to salute a new hero as bargain buy Moussa Sissoko marked his home debut with a famous match-winning double.
Not since Malcom Macdonald hit a hat-trick on his first game on Tyneside way back in 1971 has a Newcastle player made such a dramatic impact on his introduction to St.James’ Park.
Sissoko cost just £1.8m from Toulouse and already he looks like proving the best Premier League buy of the January transfer window.
It was a breathtaking display from Sissoko but he had plenty of competition for the man-of-the-match title from French colleague Yohan Cabaye, who was a sublime influence in midfield.
Chelsea played their part in a pulsating, thrilling contest and scored two wonderful goals in the space of six second minutes from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata and felt they should have had a penalty when Demba Ba had his nose broken in the 32nd minute when home skipper Fabricio Coloccini kicked him in the face.
The Magpies had deservedly led at half-time thanks to Jonas Gutierrez’s first goal of the season and the first headed effort of his Newcastle career in the 41st minute.
A beaming Alan Pardew said:” Moussa Sissoko’s winning goal signalled his entry into the Premier League. He was absolutely outstanding, confirming everything I knew about him.
“I don’t need to say too much about him. His performance said it all.
“I first saw him 14 months ago and knew he was the one for us. We were going to do the deal in the summer but we accelerated it. My God he is paying us back handsomely.
“But don’t under-estimate Yohan Cabaye. He was magnificent. We saw some real French flair today.”
But Bentitez, whose side have failed to win in a run of four successive away league and cup games, felt referee Howard Webb bottled the Ba decision.
Benitez said: “It should have been a red card and a penalty. It was so clear that Coloccini kicked Ba in the face. Anywhere else on the pitch the referee tales action.
“The failure to deal with that incident changed the game. We reacted with two good goals but we were unlucky to lose.”
Former Magpie Ba held off Coloccini to fire in a drive that was pushed out by Tim Krul. The ball came straight back to Ba, whose header trundled just wide.
But in the process Coloccini caught his former team-mate flush in the face and Ba was eventually forced to retire with what looked like a broken nose.
Newcastle went ahead four minutes before the break with an unlikely goal from Gutierrez. Santon swung a teasing ball in from the left and Gutierrez rose above a statuesque John Terry to glance the ball past Petr Cech.
It was no more than Newcastle deserved but they were stung by a superb 1-2 from Chelsea after the break.
First Lampard cleverly chested down a lovely pass from Cole on the left before firing home a rasping 20-yard for his 10th League goal of the season-the tenth succesive season he has achieved that feat.
Then Mata produced an equally brilliant finish to send an unstoppable swerving shot from just outside the box into the net after substitute Fernando Torres touched a right-wing Branislav Ivanovic cross on to the Spaniard.
But the excitement and drama was far from finished as Newcastle produced a storming grandstand finished.
Cisse, who missed a couple of decent chances, set Yoan Gouffran racing free on 68 minutes but Cech parried his shot.The ball fell straight to Sissoko, who calmly fired home for his first Toon goal.
And the Magpies latest French hero sent the home crowd into absolute delirium when he began a move on the left before feeding Santon on the left. The Italian intelligently cut the ball back to Sissoko, lurking just outside the visitors box, and he smashed a glorious winner beyond the helpless Cech.

McNally’s Verdict: Moussa Sissoko is the new king of Tyneside. The French schemer showed stunning quality to score a magnificent double that derailed an impressive Chelsea comeback.
Referee: H.Webb 6 Kept a memorable game flowing despite a few errors on a busy day.

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Sun:
Rob Beasley

YOUNG, gifted and black and white... new boy Moussa Sissoko has come to Toon and become an instant local hero.
Two goals on his home debut nicked Newcastle a thrilling 3-2 win over Chelsea and earned him a standing ovation from a pumping St James’ Park.
The £1.8million bargain-buy from Toulouse dramatically announced his arrival just as Alan Pardew’s side looked to be sliding to another damaging home defeat.
Chelsea led 2-1 with less than half-an-hour to go after stunning second-half strikes by Frank Lampard and Juan Mata wiped out Jonas Gutierrez’s opener.
But Sissoko was in no mood to allow his big day be ruined and he personified the old saying: when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And boy is he tough... not to mention, fast, skilful and lethal?
In the 68th minute he powered forward to back up fellow Frenchman Yoan Gouffran as he zeroed in on goal.
So, when Petr Cech parried Gouffran’s shot he was perfectly placed to swoop on the rebound.
Three minutes later he was searing down the right wing, winning a sprint with Ashley Cole to fire off a shot that Cech was happy to touch behind.
Suddenly Chelsea were desperately trying to hold on for a point when they looked to have had all three in the bag.
Blues have developed an unhappy habit of failing to hold onto a lead just lately. And Toon took full advantage of their nervousness right at the death.
The clock in the corner of the pitch showed 89 minutes, 26 seconds when Davide Santon fed Sissoko on the edge of the box.
Chelsea had bodies back in the area and a world-class keeper in Cech. But it just didn’t matter as the Frenchman’s shot flew through the lot and into the net.
Sissoko sprinted off in celebration and ended up mobbed by players and staff in front of the United dug-out.
And straight after the re-start boss Pardew ensured the match-winner received yet more praise.
He subbed him in injury time and the home crowd rose as one to give him a deserved ovation.
But those deafening cheers were in stark contrast to the way St James’ Park treated a returning hero Demba Ba.
Fickle home fans, still furious at his £7m defection to Chelsea, booed their former favourite every touch of the ball.
Clearly 29 goals in 58 appearances means nothing in these parts.
The Senegal striker’s return to Toon turned out to be short, but eventful.
He came so close to silencing the jeers with Chelsea’s best chance of the opening half — an incident that became the main debating point after the match.
Ba cut in menacingly from the left to unleash a low shot that keeper Tim Krul could only block straight back at him.
Ba reacted superbly to head the rebound goalwards but a boot in the face from Toon skipper Fabricio Coloccini meant he did not see it fly just past the far post. The near miss should not have mattered, though.
Referee Howard Webb should have pointed to the spot for the clearest penalty you will ever see.
And straight afterwards reaching for a red card.
Yet, incredibly, instead of pointing to the spot and sending off Coloccini he waved on the physio!
I think that’s called adding insult to injury.
Ba needed four minutes of treatment and re-appeared briefly with a huge bandage across his injured nose — just in time to see his former club take the lead.
A great move out of defence saw ended with Santon’s deep cross for Gutierrez, who outjumped John Terry to glide a super header beyond Cech four minutes before the break.
That was the signal for Ba to depart to yet more cat-calls, to be replaced by Fernando Torres.
Chelsea emerged a different side after the break, as if enraged by the injustice. And two goals in six minutes stunned Newcastle.
Lampard’s trademark 20-yarder beyond a bamboozled Krul was his 197th Blues goal, leaving him just five behind Bobby Tambling’s Chelsea record.
And when Juan Mata curled a cracker into the top corner no one was surprised.
Just as no one was surprised when Chelsea, who have given up 2-0 leads to Southampton and Reading recently, tossed it away again.

Newcastle: Krul, Debuchy, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Santon, Perch, Cabaye, Gouffran (Marveaux 84), Sissoko (Yanga-Mbiwa 90), Gutierrez, Cisse.Subs Not Used: Elliot, Anita, Bigirimana, Obertan, Shola Ameobi. Booked: Perch, Cisse.Goals: Gutierrez 41, Sissoko 68, 90.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Mata, Bertrand, Ba (Torres 43). Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Marin, Azpilicueta, Benayoun, Ake. Booked:Ramires, Cole, Mata. Goals:Lampard 55, Mata 61.
Att: 52,314

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

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Express:

NEWCASTLE 3 - CHELSEA 2: SUPER MOUSSA SISSOKO THE TALK OF LE TOON
John Richardson

If the pain on Chelsea inflicted by Fabricio Coloccini’s boot into £7.5million Ba’s face was bad enough, it was nothing compared to what followed for Rafa Benitez.
The hapless Chelsea manager, who became embroiled in a touchline row with Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, could only watch on in increasing frustration as a 2-1 lead evaporated quicker than you could say French fried.
When Ba incensed the Toon army with his January transfer window desertion, the Geordies set sail across the Channel and did their duty free shopping in the shape of five new French players.
It was one of the cheapest imports – Toulouse midfield powerhouse Moussa Sissoko, costing less than £2m – who announced himself, complete with the No7 shirt which once adorned Kevin Keegan’s back. His drive and energy, allied to two splendidly-taken goals, emphasised that the French resistance is alive and well on Tyneside.
The Blaydon Races might not yet have been replaced by La Marseillaise, but yesterday it was definitely a case of Allez les Lads.
For Benitez, who had to endure chants of “Jose Mourinho” from the travelling Chelsea fans, it could be the guillotine at this rate. But after recovering from a goal down to lead 2-1, it seemed that Chelsea were going to make it a sixth successive unbeaten trip to St James’ Park.
It was some return to the North East for Ba. His afternoon effectively came to an end as he chased down a 32nd-minute, defence-splitting ball from Frank Lampard, fired in a shot which was pushed out by Tim Krul and the follow-up header – which sneaked just wide of the post – was accompanied by a kick on the bridge of the nose.
Ba staggered on, bandaged up after his penalty-box mishap – just long enough to see his former Argentinian team-mate Jonas Gutierrez stun Chelsea – and, you even suspect, the Gallowgate End – with a rare headed goal.
Davide Santon was the instigator of Chelsea’s downfall, cutting in from the left flank and providing a silky right-footed cross for Gutierrez to rise above John Terry and direct his header into the corner of the net.
It was all too much for Ba, whose every move following his January exit from Tyneside to Stamford Bridge was booed by the dismayed Newcastle fans.
Barely able to breathe with what proved to be a broken nose, he made his way slowly to the touchline to be replaced by Fernando Torres.
Newcastle’s goal served only to light the fuse to an entertaining affair which ebbed and flowed with increasing ferocity, lapped up by a full house. Lampard edged ever closer to Bobby Tambling’s 202-goal all-time Chelsea scoring record with a brilliant finish to level things.
Goal number 197 was a cracker, controlling a ball from Ashley Cole before unleashing a dipping effort from 20 yards which left Krul grasping thin air.
Chelsea were now on a roll, Newcastle were on the back foot and six minutes later it was 2-1, Branislav Ivanovic galloping down the right and finding Torres. A neat lay-off to Juan Mata ended with another clinical finish. With the Toon having suffered three defeats in their last four games, Newcastle followers must have feared the worst.
But for those games they didn’t have Sissoko in harness. Already making life difficult for the Chelsea midfield with his ceaseless running, he popped up to prod home a blocked attempt from Yoan Gouffran.
He wasn’t finished. In the last minute of normal time, Papiss Cisse, who had squandered three highly presentable chances, helped atone with a brilliant ball played into substitute Sylvain Marveaux’s path.
When Marveaux skipped into the area, there was Sissoko to hammer low past Petr Cech. There was still time for Lampard to be denied by Steven Taylor’s midriff, with desperate Chelsea claiming a penalty.
A bitter Benitez believed the broken nose incident involving Ba should have earned his side a penalty kick. “It should have been a red card and a penalty,” he said. “Anywhere else on the pitch and the referee would have taken action. That changed the game.”
Pardew thought otherwise. “It was an unbelievable game,” he said. “We accelerated the Sissoko deal and that paid off handsomely.”

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Star:

NEWCASTLE 3 - CHELSEA 2: MOUSSA SISSOKO HITS DOUBLE AS DEMBA BA BREAKS HIS NOSE

By Paul Hetherington

DEMBA BA’S return to Newcastle ended in agony – and he wasn’t the only one to suffer.
Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez saw his side surrender another winning position after they blew a two-goal lead at Reading in their previous match.
Moussa Sissoko struck twice on a sensational home debut for Newcastle – ­after his bargain £1.8million move from Toulouse – to shatter Chelsea.
Ba, making a quick return to Tyneside after quitting the Geordies for Chelsea in the transfer window through his £7.5m release clause, suffered a broken nose.
He lasted only 42 minutes of a thriller which saw Frank Lampard and Juan Mata put Chelsea on top with great strikes.
That was after Jonas Gutierrez had given Newcastle the lead with his first goal of the season. But Toon roared back for Sissoko to equalise, then rifle home a last-minute winner from Davide Santon’s low cross.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was delighted with new signing Sissoko. He said: “I saw him 14 months ago and decided then he’s the one for us.
“We were going to sign him in the summer but we accelerated the deal and he is repaying us handsomely.
“Chelsea scored two unbelievable goals and usually when that happens against you, the stuffing is knocked out of you.
“But we weren’t to be denied.”
Newcastle were the more dangerous side in the first half.
Papiss Cisse had a drive bravely blocked by Gary Cahill, then placed his shot too close to Petr Cech when he had a chance to open the scoring. Toon full-back Santon also flashed a shot just wide before Cisse missed another chance – but on this occasion he was denied by a fine Cech save.
Ba’s agony came in the 32nd minute but it could have been ecstasy.
The former Newcastle striker sprinted onto Lampard’s pass, only to see his shot beaten out by Tim Krul.
Ba followed up with a header which travelled wide but took a kick in the face from Fabricio Coloccini as he met the ball.
After seven minutes of treatment, the Chelsea striker returned to the action but lasted only three minutes before being replaced by Fernando Torres. That was just a minute after Gutierrez had beaten John Terry to Santon’s cross to head into the corner of the net.
But ten minutes into the second half Lampard took a pass from Cole and powered the ball home from 25 yards.
He then had a header saved after a brilliant Chelsea move involving Oscar and Mata, who put the Blues ahead in the 61st minute.
Branislav Ivanovic’s cross from the right was laid off by Torres to Mata, who produced a brilliant left-foot finish.
While that was happening, Cole and Cisse were tangling off the ball and both were booked.
Rival bosses Benitez and Pardew also exchanged words on the touchline on a lively day on Tyneside which saw Newcastle equalise in the 68th minute.
Cisse escaped the attentions of Terry to find Yoan Gouffran, whose shot was parried by Cech but only to the impressive Sissoko, who slotted home. And after Sissoko’s winner, Chelsea might have had a penalty for handball against Steven Taylor.
There was even more frustration for Benitez on a day when Chelsea’s travelling fans chanted for the return of Jose Mourinho.
Benitez said: “The Ba incident should have been a penalty for us and a red card for the Newcastle player.
“That changed the game. Anywhere else on the pitch and the referee would have taken action.
“We reacted well and scored two goals but we then gave them the opportunity to play on the counter attack.”