Harvey Barnes scored a dramatic winner in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time as Newcastle United defeated Leeds United 4-3 in a barnstorming Premier League clash at St James' Park.
Leeds had led three times and looked to be on course for three points when Brenden Aaronson scored his second of the game in the 79th minute.
But Bruno Guimaraes restored parity from the penalty spot after Aaronson’s handball in the area, and Barnes squirmed home his second with one of the last actions of an utterly pulsating fixture.
Leeds had already squandered the lead twice, with Aaronson opening the scoring and Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting a penalty of his own, but Barnes and Joelinton responded for Eddie Howe's side.
The late defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Leeds, who remain 16th – eight points clear of the drop zone – after their seven-match unbeaten run came to an end, while Newcastle surged up to sixth.
Watch all SEVEN goals
How the match unfolded
Leeds took a deserved lead in the 32nd minute when Malick Thiaw carelessly lost possession to Calvert-Lewin, who teed up Aaronson to fire into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.
But Barnes restored parity four minutes later, slotting in after a deft touch from Nick Woltemade. Newcastle almost went ahead when Lewis Miley flicked Anthony Gordon's free-kick against the right post.
But Leeds were back in front in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, Calvert-Lewin rolling his penalty into the bottom-right corner after Thiaw had handled in the area.
A breathless encounter swung again when Joelinton met Guimaraes' exquisite right-wing cross with a smart header into the bottom-left corner in the 54th minute.
James Justin struck the crossbar before Aaronson put Leeds ahead again converting in off the left post to spark wild celebrations in the away end.
But it was the American's raised arm that led to the penalty for Guimaraes to level in the first minute of stoppage time, and Barnes' shot had just enough to get past Lucas Perri to complete the turnaround.
Barnes’ stormer snatches win
Howe needed some inspiration from somewhere after a poor start from the hosts, and Barnes stepped up when needed.
The winger had already wriggled past Ethan Ampadu to test Perri with a close-range shot by the time he got his rewards by meeting Woltemade's clever layoff.
Barnes’ team-mates did not display the same level of finishing, though. Fabian Schar saw a close-range attempt hit the upright before Woltemade had his follow-up well saved by Perri, and Sven Botman’s looping header was cleared off the line in the 84th minute.
But Barnes was nothing if not persistent, and once Guimaraes’ penalty had set the stage, the winger stood up to take the headlines. His winner brought up a seventh goal in eight appearances against Leeds.
Newcastle will now turn their attention to the domestic cups. The Magpies return to St James’ Park on Saturday against Howe’s former side AFC Bournemouth in the third round of the FA Cup before hosting Manchester City in the EFL Cup semi-final, first leg on Tuesday 13 January.
Aaronson and Calvert-Lewin impress, but Leeds falter
Calvert-Lewin came into this match having scored eight Premier League goals in 18 appearances this season. The 28-year-old has been a revelation since joining the Whites in the summer and his quality was on display on Tyneside.
The England striker showed great determination to win possession from Thiaw before setting up Aaronson for Leeds opener in the first half, and applied pressure on the Newcastle centre-back to win the handball from which he netted from the penalty spot – his seventh Premier League goal against the Magpies in the Premier League.
Calvert-Lewin came close to scoring his second of the evening, but Schar showed great bravery to deny the in-form striker six yards from goal.
The forward is dovetailing brilliantly with Aaronson, who is showing the kind of quality that had Leeds fans so excited when they signed him back in 2022. However, Aaronson ultimately played a part in the visitors’ late capitulation with his handball.
And a vibrant attacking performance proved fruitless, with Leeds unable to withstand the barrage of Newcastle pressure in an epic period of stoppage time.
An FA Cup tie with Derby County comes up on Sunday as Leeds look to bounce back.
Club reports
Newcastle report | Leeds report
What the managers said
Eddie Howe: "I'm going to struggle to do it [to make sense of the game] because it was a crazy game. We weren't at our best today. Leeds played very well but we had a spirit and a togetherness and a fight that we were never out of the game. We kept going until the end and it's a great win.
"No Premier League game, as the table would show you, is easy this year and the win is a valuable result. Coming from behind, we haven't done that this season yet so that's a great thing to do. We have been on the receiving end a couple of times this season and it really hurt so this is the better way to script it."
Daniel Farke: "It's football, it was a great advertisement for the Premier League. A game full of class. Of course there were mistakes otherwise there wouldn't be goals. But more or less football how we want to see it - emotional, offensive, great from us here at Newcastle. It was always clear the not-losing streak would come to an end and I would prefer to do it like this, a top performance from the lads.
"Of course it's heart-breaking to concede a penalty in the 91st minute and the 12th minute of added time, the winner for them. Heart-breaking. We should have been a bit smarter in the final stages in terms of game management because it was like a basketball game and a point for us would have been a bit more valuable. We were a bit naïve."
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Key facts
Timed at 101 minutes and 48 seconds, Barnes’ winning goal for Newcastle is the latest-ever winning goal in a Premier League match on record since 2006/07.
Leeds were the first team to go ahead three times in a Premier League game and then lose, since they did so in November 2022 against Spurs in a 4-3 defeat.
Since the start of December, Calvert-Lewin has more goals than any other player across Europe’s big-five leagues, scoring seven goals from just nine shots on target.
Barnes has scored eight league goals against Leeds (one for West Brom, five for Leicester, two for Newcastle), his most against an opponent in his career. Barnes has now scored in seven of his last eight league starts against the Whites.