With 11 minutes remaining at Elland Road, Kristensen scored as Leeds rallied following two Callum Wilson penalties. Luke Ayling, the captain of Leeds, scored the game’s first goal in a thrilling contest that had implications for both ends of the table. Prior to Wilson’s penalties for Newcastle, Patrick Bamford missed a penalty kick that would have put Leeds two goals in front.
Junior Firpo, a defender for Leeds, received a second card after Kristensen’s equalizer and the referee dismissed him in stoppage time of the second half. Having played one more game than fourth-place Everton, who play host to Manchester City on Sunday, Leeds has climbed one spot to 18th and is now one point away from safety. Next weekend, Sam Allardyce’s team will play at West Ham before hosting Tottenham in the season’s final match.
Leeds has fallen seven straight games and is in another tense battle for survival after escaping relegation on the penultimate day of the previous campaign. It will be very close for Newcastle in their quest to finish in the top four and earn a spot in the Champions League. Although Eddie Howe’s team is still third, Manchester United is in fourth place and Liverpool is in fifth place, only three points separate the two.
The Magpies need to earn six points from their final three games against Brighton, Leicester, and Chelsea to guarantee a top-four finish. Leeds lost 2-1 in Allardyce’s inaugural game at Manchester City last weekend, playing at home for the first time under the former England manager. The Newcastle fans, who booed Allardyce vociferously prior to kickoff, evidently have few good memories of his eight-month stint in charge of the club.
Even the fans of Leeds, who welcomed their new manager with politeness rather than fervor, showed they saw his appointment as a last-minute response to Javi Gracia’s dismissal. But after seven minutes, Leeds made the ideal start, turning the spectators’ skepticism into joy.
