´Don´t care about the performance´ – Barnes toasts ´special´ winner in dramatic Leeds triumph

Harvey Barnes had no interest in Newcastle United’s performance after his 102nd-minute winner snatched a “special” 4-3 victory over Leeds United.

Eddie Howe’s side trailed three times at St. James’ Park on Wednesday, only for Barnes to deliver the decisive moment in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time, scoring his second goal of the game.

It marked the first time Newcastle came from behind on three occasions to win a Premier League match, previously only avoiding defeat once when doing so (a 3-3 draw with Manchester City in February 1996).

Barnes’ winner, timed at 101 minutes and 48 seconds, was also the latest winning goal in the competition since Opta started detailed data collection in 2006-07.

And the Newcastle winger was understandably still caught up in the chaos during his post-match interview, admitting the performance was of secondary importance.

“It was weird, very up and down,” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t think we were by any means at our best, but then the way the game finishes, the feeling now, you don’t really care about the performance – it’s more the result.

“I don’t really remember it [his winning goal]. Swivel, hit and then hope. Celebrate. It’s all a bit of a blur. It’s just instinct, get whatever contact you can, and there are that many bodies, anything can happen.

“Everyone knows what the atmosphere’s like up here, but when a last-minute winner goes in like that, it’s special.

“We both had spells in the game where we looked in control, but as a whole it was quite an even affair. You could see at the end, we were the ones pushing and looking like we were going to score. It’s paid off.”

3 – Leeds United against Newcastle tonight is only the sixth time ever that a side has taken the lead on three separate occasions in a Premier League match but gone on to lose, and first since Leeds again against Tottenham Hotspur in November 2022. Repeat. pic.twitter.com/v0wQLs6SNx

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 7, 2026

Dominic Calvert-Lewin teed up Brenden Aaronson’s 32nd-minute opener before restoring Leeds’ lead on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot, after Barnes had equalised initially for Newcastle.

Joelinton dragged his side back to parity again early into the second half, only for Aaronson to edge Leeds ahead with 11 minutes remaining, and then give away a stoppage-time penalty for handball.

Bruno Guimaraes subsequently converted from the spot before Barnes’ moment of brilliance in the dying seconds, leaving Howe struggling for words.

The Newcastle boss told Sky Sports: “Difficult to sum up. It was one of those classic games here where I don’t think we were our best, but we showed great character, and the game turned our way at the end, which is a rare thing for us. It’s great for it to go the other way today.

“It wasn’t a perfect performance, there’s stuff to improve, but the mentality is the key thing. If you are losing, you need that ‘never say die’ attitude.

“We were a bit flat at the start of game, which was surprising. We are disappointed with that aspect of our game, but maybe conceding helped us in this game because it gave us something to chase, and we played with a bit more freedom.

“I’m delighted for Harvey to score the winning goal, a great moment for him. He has done it before for us but he deserves it.”