Newcastle United suffered a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen after their tendency to concede goals late on European nights became evident. Leverkusen took the lead thanks to Newcastle’s generous defending. Alejandro Grimaldo flicked the ball to the back post and centre-back Robert Andrich headed it across goal, comfortably ahead of Sandro Tonali. His header hit Bruno Guimarães before slipping past Aaron Ramsdale to give the German team an easy lead. But if Newcastle were generous over the holidays, Leverkusen looked to return the favor.
Goalkeeper Mark Frecken took one too many touches and lost the ball to Nick Woltemade, who was then brought down by the former Brentford player. At Bay Arena, Anthony Gordon scored in the 51st minute to tie the score at 1-1. Newcastle took the lead in the 74th minute when Gordon scored with a header from Lewis Miley. But Thun’s hearts were broken when Maza slipped in for Grimaldo with two minutes left and Grimaldo scored to make it 2-2. Express Sport rates and predicts Newcastle players…
Aaron Ramsdale – 7
His efforts to prevent Bruno’s first goal were questionable as Bruno’s shot skimmed past him. However, he bounced back well, making huge saves in the first and second halves.
Tino Librament – 6
He managed to cut through Leverkusen a few times, but he wasn’t at his best.
Malik Thiau – 5
Truth be told, his first half was below average. He improved in the second half, but didn’t shine with the tying goal.
Dan Byrne – 6
Although they fought hard, their performance was mixed as they were outsmarted by Leverkusen’s equalizer.
Lewis Hall – 7
He shone brightly on Newcastle’s left flank. A great cross to the back post should have been taken by Barnes. He also contributed to the second goal.
Joelinton – 5
Managed 33 touches and made several blocks. However, they struggled to find a rhythm as Leverkusen continued to tighten their grip in midfield. Miley is on a roll right now.
Bruno Guimarães – 6
They bounced back from their own goal in the first half with a good performance.
Sandro Tonali – 5
The night didn’t improve after he was caught napping at the back post, allowing Andrich to head in for the opening goal.
Anthony Gordon – 8
He continued his scoring streak in the Champions League and provided a great cross for Miley. After a shaky first half, they were almost at their best.
Harvey Barnes – 5
posed some threat but lacked clinical decisiveness. I couldn’t make accurate crosses throughout the match.
Nick Waltemaid – 7
Although it wasn’t a perfect performance, it still made a big impact, but they were unlucky not to beat Frekken. Earned a penalty to put the team back in the game.
substitute
Lewis Miley (Joelington 60) – 8
The super sub scored the decisive goal. Although it left an impact, unfortunately it did not result in the winning goal.
