Barnes settles a Premier League classic

Harvey Barnes scored a winner in the 102nd minute as Newcastle United came from behind three times to beat Leeds United 4-3 in a Premier League classic at St James’ Park.

On the day it was announced that former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan had been diagnosed with cancer, the Magpies prevailed in a match reminiscent of the legendary Entertainers he oversaw in the 1990s. Keegan’s name was chanted throughout an emotional evening.

In-form Leeds contributed immensely to a remarkable display on Tyneside and looked set to take all three points when Brenden Aaronson’s second goal gave them a 3-2 lead in the 79th minute.

Aaronson had already opened the scoring to punish a sloppy Newcastle start, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hugely controversial penalty restoring their advantage just before half-time after Barnes had quickly equalized. Joelinton’s deft header made it 2-2 nine minutes into the second half.

Yet Aaronson contributed to Leeds’ downfall, his handball allowing Bruno Guimaraes to equalize for a third time from the penalty spot in the 91st minute.

This could have been the final act of most games, but injuries during the 10 minutes of added time gave both teams enough time to find a winner.

It was Newcastle who did it, with Barnes taking advantage by firing on the turn after Leeds failed to deal with a final ball into the box from Guimaraes, his goal the last ever winner in the Premier League.

Newcastle move on to sixth in the rankingwith the Magpies just two points out of the top four. Leeds remain eight points ahead of the bottom three.

Thiaw pays controversial penalty

Leeds started brightly, with Pascal Struijk guilty of wasting two excellent chances, while Barnes was denied by Lucas Perri at the other end.

The usually calm Malick Thiaw struggled in the first half, and it was his slip that allowed Calvert-Lewin to play in Aaronson to open the scoring with an unerring strike into the bottom left corner.

Newcastle’s response was quick, with some excellent hold-up play from Nick Woltemade seeing the German hand the ball back to Barnes to restore parity with a cool finish.

Anthony Gordon then hit the post as his free-kick evaded everyone, the stranded Perri being saved by the woodwork, who would come to his rescue on several occasions.

Luck was firmly on Leeds’ side in first-half stoppage time as Michael Salisbury pointed to the spot after the ball bounced off Thiaw’s arm as he came under pressure from Calvert-Lewin. VAR upheld the decision although the handball appeared to be the result of Thiaw losing his balance.

Calvert-Lewin continued his superb form with a composed penalty, with boos aimed at Salisbury echoing around St James’ Park at half-time.

Barnes double seals memorable Newcastle victory

In response, Howe brought on Tino Livramento for Sandro Tonali to start the second half and ended Thiaw’s rare night off by replacing him with Sven Botman.

Those boos quickly turned to cheers after Joelinton cleverly sent home Guimaraes’ smart cross, with Fabian Schar then taken off on a stretcher and then hitting the post before Woltemade’s follow-up was saved by Perri.

For all their attacking threat, Newcastle were still struggling to control the game and were fortunate to see James Justin’s header hit the crossbar.

But there was no respite after Yoane Wissa carelessly lost possession, Aaronson bursting down the right channel and firing in from the left post to once again stun the home fans.

Botman became the latest Newcastle player to hit the woodwork as he was denied by the crossbar, although their frustration turned to relief after Aaronson dealt carelessly with Lewis Hall’s cross, with captain Guimaraes making no mistake from 12 yards. Aaronson became the first player to score twice and concede a penalty in a Premier League match since Grant Holt in February 2012 for Norwich City against Swansea City.

Neither side showed any sign of settling for a point, but it was Leeds who ultimately proved unable to hold on in a frantic finish, with Barnes’ shot having too much power for Perri, sparking utter frenzy on Tyneside as Newcastle prevailed in a match that will live long in the memory.