Newcastle United Denied Victory by Late Equalizer Against Bayer Leverkusen
Aaron Ramsdale expressed his frustration, Malick Thiaw struck the ground in disappointment, while Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy were left stunned with their hands on their heads.
History seemed to repeat itself for Newcastle United as the BayArena erupted following an 88th-minute equalizer from Bayer Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo.
After displaying remarkable resilience to come from behind and take the lead against the German side, Newcastle was once again denied a crucial victory.
They conceded yet another late goal.
“You have to stand up and be counted, and we didn’t do it well enough,” said Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe after the 2-2 draw in the Champions League. “That’s a team thing – the whole group needs to realize the importance of defending our goal.”
This season, Newcastle has conceded nine goals in the final ten minutes of matches across all competitions, with only Nottingham Forest having a worse record among Premier League clubs.
“It all comes back to mentality,” stated goalscorer Anthony Gordon in an interview with TNT Sports. “We need to hold out in these games because that is what top teams do.”
‘We Gave Ourselves a Mountain to Climb’
Newcastle aspires to be a top team, and there was no indication that the visitors were looking past this match towards Sunday’s Wear-Tyne derby.
Recognizing the significance of the game and the respect he had for Leverkusen, Howe named what could be considered his strongest available lineup, with Lewis Hall, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, and Harvey Barnes all included.
However, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage after failing to make first contact on Aleix Garcia’s corner kick. Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich easily shrugged off Tonali at the back post to head the ball off Bruno Guimaraes and into the net.
“We’re not doing it well enough,” Gordon remarked. “Again, it comes back to mentality. We need to be stronger, we need to be better.”
“Ultimately, it’s about consistency. We need to be a consistent team in every phase of the game.”
While Newcastle has been working on set-pieces recently, their typically reliable defense has shown vulnerability from corners, especially in the last week.
Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero scored a dramatic late equalizer from a corner last Tuesday, and just four days later, Jacob Ramsey handled the ball inside the box during a similar situation while Newcastle was leading 2-0 against ten-man Burnley. Zian Flemming converted the resulting penalty, creating a tense finish for Newcastle, who were fortunate not to concede another stoppage-time equalizer when Burnley substitute Josh Laurent narrowly headed wide at the end of the match.
This time, Newcastle had ample opportunity to recover after Leverkusen took an early lead, but that did not lessen the frustration for Howe.
“That’s the one that really gets me,” he expressed. “Because we worked a lot on set-plays between the last game, and we didn’t defend it well enough.”
‘Need to Do Whatever It Takes to Win’
Despite the setback, Newcastle found a way to respond. After a spirited halftime discussion, the visitors rallied after the break, winning a penalty when Nick Woltemade aggressively pressured Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
Gordon converted the penalty, then assisted substitute Lewis Miley's header to put Newcastle in front.
However, another recurring issue emerged. Despite taking the lead in the 74th minute, Newcastle was unable to secure the victory.
This team has dropped more points from winning positions - 11 - than any other in the Premier League. They have failed to win four of their last five away matches in all competitions, despite having taken the lead in each of them.
Newcastle hit the post through substitute Jacob Murphy after taking the lead, but they began to retreat against Leverkusen late in the match, whether intentionally or not.
Grimaldo's clever dummy effectively removed Newcastle's midfield from the equation before he leveled the score for Leverkusen.
For Howe, it was a familiar disappointment. “I don’t think it’s ever a case of sitting back and absorbing pressure,” he said. “That’s not our primary aim, but you need to do whatever it takes to win. Sometimes that means making sacrifices.”
Newcastle remains in contention for at least a playoff spot and is just a few points away from the automatic qualification places for the last 16. However, Howe's team must avoid letting history repeat itself when they host a resurgent PSV side on January 21, followed by a trip to the Parc des Princes to face holders Paris St-Germain a week later.
“We have it all to prove,” Howe concluded. “The two games we have coming up are very challenging, but I have faith in the group. Wherever we go, if we perform near our best, we can win.”