42 mins A deep cross from Vurnon Anita on the United right dropped in the Chelsea box but evaded Kurt Zouma and fell nicely into the path of Ayoze Perez. His first touch on his right foot killed the pace of the ball and as it bounced, the Spaniard swung the same boot to volley in from 12 yards via a post. That sparked wild celebrations: the scorer treated to a whip-lashing jolt from Mitrovic. 1-0

Half time: Magpies 1 Chelsea 0

60 mins Ayoze Perez whipped over the second of two quick flag kicks over from the South East corner and the unmarked Georginio Wijnaldum arrived on cue to head into the far corner of the Gallowgate net in an echo of his debut goal against Southampton. 2-0

79 mins The ball was played infield by Eden Hazard to Ramires and without further ado he unleashed a simply unstoppable strike that flew into the top corner of the goal from 25 yards. 2-1

86 mins A tired challenge from Moussa Sissoko on Willian won a free kick outside the United box. The same Chelsea played then curled a right-footed free-kick into the path of Ramires but it was missed by everyone - including Krul - and went straight into the goal. 2-2

Full time: Magpies 2 Chelsea 2

200,000 people may have visited Banksy's Dismaland attraction over the last month, but Tyneside's favourite bemusement park welcomed two thirds of that number in barely a week - providing them with some equally bizarre and unexpected entertainment in the process.

The quirky statistic that we were seeking a fourth successive home win over Chelsea was rendered irrelevant by the unadulterated misery of Wednesday and Saturday, raising bleak thoughts that the likely scoreline was more likely to be a foretaste of the Rugby World Cup ties to be staged here.

Contrary to the last though, a performance of rare coherence from Newcastle breathed new life into a stadium and a support that had taken on the air of a graveyard and mourners lately. For once, the actions of those in black and white provoked spontaneous displays of support rather than disgust and an unexpected feeling of two points dropped rather than one won persisted until closing time.  

Attempting to answer the question why is as difficult as rationalising the awfulness of the last two games. Only the players will know just why they were so bad against Watford and Wednesday - but roused themselves to memorable levels against the reigning Premier League champions.  

Settling well, not conceding in the opening minutes keeping eleven men on the field and creating some scoring chances were all comparative novelties for toon watchers, as was returning at half time a goal to the good after Ayoze Perez capped a good half with a great strike that emphasised Chelsea's below-par defending.

Only able to make rare excursions upfield after the interval, a second goal was greeted almost by disbelief but prompted Chelsea to raise their game - the listless Loic Remy going off as South America trio Falcao, Ramires and Willian entered the fray. 

Their introduction was a pertinent reminder of the difference between the sides, with Ivan Toney covering back up striker duties despite never having played in the top flight. A lack of forward cover of course proves that there's nowt new under the sun - our 1996/97 UEFA Cup campaign and the following season's Champions League quest similarly floundering (remember Rob Lee as sole striker?)

The latter two duly netted to restore parity and went close to winning it. But while may not have found that elusive way to win, the resilience demanded by a club email was visible - at least until the replacement of Jack Colback (who had come through a fitness test to play) and a collective tiredness almost submerged us. 

And even then, some never-say-die defending and net minding challenged recent presumptions that commitment and spirit were both lacking in the home dressing room, along with that necessary slice of fortune that seems to continually elude us.

Moving into the final moments of the second half, United's time-wasting corner ploy incensed some fans (who justifiably pointed out that we'd already scored from one) but can be seen as a measure of our desperation to take something more tangible from the game then platitudes. 

At least we gave ourselves some chance of scoring a goal today though - not relying therefore on a clean sheet to get anything from the game - thanks to a new partnership between Aleksandar Mitrovic and Perez. The former made a welcome return after his three game ban to provide a physical presence up front that had been glaringly absent. Thankfully the Serbian also combined that with some self-control to remain on the pitch despite some bruising contests with the visitors.

Fitness problems meanwhile saw Kevin Mbabu appear in an unfamiliar left back role in place of Massadio Haidara - having made a senior debut on Wednesday deputising for the indisposed Daryl Janmaat on the opposite side of defence. The Swiss-born player was both fearless and inspired, occasionally prompting heart failure but doing much to secure only our third point of the season.

That's one more than the mackems who remain below us after they were thumped 3-0 at Old Trafford but the league table still makes painful reading ahead of next week's visit to the Etihad Stadium - statistically our least favourite Premier League venue.

But if United can build on this performance then their awful start to the season can still be put behind us. Emulating our League Cup victory there remains a pipe dream despite's City's recent loss of form, but the real tests lie on the other side of the international break.

The intensity and effort of this performance needs to be repeated then during what should be winnable fixtures against less exalted teams:  Norwich City, the mackems, Stoke City and Bournemouth. 

Pull that off and the corner may just have been turned. 

Biffa