Lamine Yamal scored a penalty with the final kick of the match as Barcelona rescued a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in a frantic UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg battle at St James’ Park.
Home manager Eddie Howe had described the meeting as the biggest match in Newcastle’s history as they chased a repeat of their famous 3-2 win over the La Liga leaders in the 1997 Champions League when Faustino Asprilla netted an epic hat-trick.
And they looked set to complete another rousing victory over Barca when Harvey Barnes arrived unmarked in the 86th minute to convert a cross from Jacob Murphy.
But despite dominating the second half, the home side were caught by a sucker punch in the dying seconds of four added minutes when Malick Thiaw was guilty of sticking out a leg to bring down Dani Olmo as the referee rightly awarded the penalty.
Yamal kept his cool to send Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way from the spot as Barca earned a draw they barely deserved ahead of the return leg at the Camp Nou next Wednesday.
