Newcastle played a 2-2 draw in a dramatic match against Leeds at Elland Road delaying their chances for Champions League qualification. The result kept them in third on the table with 66 points, four points clear of Liverpool in fifth. The share of spoils did not allow Leeds to move out of the relegation zone but placed them above Leicester City to 18th with two games left to play. The Magpies will take on Brighton & Hove Albion at St James' Park next while Leeds travel to London Stadium to face West Ham for their penultimate game of the season.
It was a game that had it all. Three penalties, a dramatic equalizer and also a late send-off. Luke Ayling gave the home side the lead in only the seventh minute of the match slamming in the rebound after Rodrigo's header was half parried by Nick Pope. Leeds kept on the pressure and won a penalty with Joelinton bringing Junior Firpo down into the box. Patrick Bamford stepped up to take it but Pope guessed the right way to deny him.
Remarkably, Newcastle earned a spot-kick just minutes after conceding one at the other end of the pitch. Firpo slipped at the wrong moment causing Maximilian Wober to foul Aleksander Isak inside the box. Unlike Leeds' number nine, Callum Wilson cooly tucked away his spot-kick to level up the score on the half-hour mark.
The second half started in a similar fashion with Leeds trying to be on the front foot despite Newcastle posing the threat of Callum Wilson and Aleksandar Isak. It is the latter who was involved in the next big moment in the match. Isak headed wide from a cross inside the box but immediately appealed for a handball. It seemed the ball touched Firpo's fingers of his outstretched arm before reaching the Swede. Referee Simon Hooper looked at the monitor consulted by the VAR and points to the spot.
Wilson took the spot-kick again and this time went through the middle to put the Magpies ahead. Just when hopes were dying for Leeds, Rasmus Kristensen shot from their first corner of the match in the 79th minute took a deflection off Kieran Trippier and rested inside the net with Pope unmoved. The home side could have made it difficult for themselves in the dying minutes after coming back into the match as Firpo, earlier booked for simulation, received his second yellow for fouling Anthony Gordon outside of the box. Goalkeeper Joel Robles also denied Fabian Schar from the edge of the box to help his side secure the points.
Finisher
With his two penalties, Callum Wilson has scored 10 goals since the start of April. No other player in Europe's top 10 leagues has more. The 31-year-old is also the first Newcastle player to score 17 goals in a Premier League season since Alan Shearer 19 years ago.
Masters of draw
This is the 12th draw Newcastle United have played this season. It is their first in 13 league matches and the second most they have managed in their Premier League history after the 2010-11 season when they managed 13.
3 Mins 23 secs
The time between the award of two penalties at Elland Road in the first half with Patrick Bamford failing to convert his spot-kick and Callum Wilson successfully taking his.
Third
Leeds are only the third side to fail to score and concede two penalties in the same Premier League match. They have now scored and conceded in each of their last 11 league matches since losing 1-0 to Chelsea in March.
Only one
Newcastle have now kept only one clean sheet in their last 14 matches, none in their last seven, after recording 12 in their first 20 Premier League matches. Only 19th-placed Leicester City have kept fewer clean sheets than the Magpies since the start of February.
