1 day ago
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Tactical anarchy reigned supreme on a night of chaotic, bewildering, thrilling drama played out amid freezing conditions.
Not that the on-pitch temperature ever seemed to drop below boiling point as a renascent Leeds led three times yet departed with their seven‑match unbeaten run at an end and Yorkshire hearts broken by Harvey Barnes’s stoppage -time winner.
Long before the end, though, three things were clear: Daniel Farke’s visitors are surely far too good to go down; Eddie Howe’s immensely talented side have developed some alarming structural flaws; and this was one of the finest matches at St James’ Park in recent years.
“A classic that is difficult to sum up,” said the Newcastle manager, whose delight was tempered by the serious second‑half ankle injury that meant his defender Fabian Schär was taken to hospital. “We weren’t at our best but we showed great character.”
It all produced so much cavalier, Keeganesque excitement that it seemed appropriate Kevin Keegan’s name was chanted long and loud before kick-off as the crowd sent their former player and manager an evocative “get well” message following his cancer diagnosis.
With Newcastle starting slowly amid an emotionally charged atmosphere, an unmarked Pascal Struijk directed a free header over Nick Pope’s crossbar after meeting the influential Anton Stach’s free-kick.
Farke briefly look concerned when his goalkeeper Lucas Perri dropped an anodyne header from Malick Thiaw and Schär lashed the loose ball home only to see that effort disallowed for a perceived foul on Perri.
Suitably stung, Newcastle rallied and the impressive Lewis Miley headed a Bruno Guimarães corner over the crossbar but it proved insufficient to erode visiting confidence. Sure enough Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson combined to befuddle Howe’s dozing defence. As Thiaw slipped, Aaronson met his centre-forward’s clever pass and unleashed a superlative low shot beyond Nick Pope’s reach.
Newcastle equalised four minutes later. Thanks to Miley’s cross, Guimarães’s header, Anthony Gordon’s clever penalty area flick, Nick Woltemade’s subtle touch and an assured left-foot finish from the dangerous Barnes, parity was restored. But only temporarily. Leeds’s second goal came from the penalty spot following Thiaw’s handball. If, given that the German was toppling over at the time, the award of that spot-kick was contentious, it capped an unusually disappointing 45 minutes for the defender.
Thiaw had struggled to subdue Calvert-Lewin and could not quite seem to fathom out Aaronson’s highly intelligent positional play as the No 10.
Despite Gordon’s deliberate attempt to create a divot by scuffing up the turf around the penalty spot – an endeavour that led to his yellow card – Calvert-Lewin sent Pope the wrong way. It was his ninth goal of the season and eighth in the past nine games. A place in England’s World Cup squad surely beckons.
Howe replaced Sven Botman with Thiaw at half-time. With Tonali, rather more controversially, also withdrawn, Tino Livramento came on at right‑back and Miley moved into midfield.
Those changes looked vindicated as Joelinton swiftly headed Newcastle level. It was a top-drawer finish conjured when Miley performed minor wonders to keep the ball in play and Guimarães used the outside of his right foot to whip in a superb cross.
The glorious craziness only intensified when Pope misread a cross and James Justin’s apparently goalbound header somehow ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar.
As Schär crumpled in a challenge with Calvert-Lewin the mood darkened. Following several minutes of treatment he was carried off on a stretcher en route to hospital.
Leeds promptly capitalised on Yoane Wissa’s slapdash pass and broke with alacrity, leaving Aaronson to expertly score his second goal.
Then Aaronson was contentiously deemed to have handled Lewis Hall’s cross inside the area and Guimarães made no mistake from the penalty spot. “It was never a penalty but the referee was under great pressure from the crowd,” Farke said.
The scene was then set for Barnes’s final, victorious 102nd-minute act. “It was such a heartbreaking moment,” the Leeds manager said.
“It was a top game, a great game but, of course, there were mistakes. It became more like basketball. Both teams were out of control and just went for it.”
