Mohamed Salah must be wondering how he left the field with only one point despite scoring twice, hitting the crossbar, and assisting.
He thought he had the winner when he scored his second goal in the 83rd minute, giving Liverpool a 3-2 lead.
But Newcastle deserved a point, which they gained in the final minute of normal time thanks to Fabian Schar.
Howe had told his players to ‘enjoy the challenge,’ and they surely did, as did a crowded St. James’.
Newcastle dominated proceedings from the start.
They pursued their opponents in the same way Liverpool does at their best.
By halftime, three visitors had been booked, all for attempting to prevent Newcastle from breaking away after winning the ball.
They were up after 34 minutes, and what a goal and what a ruckus to celebrate it.
Bruno Guimaraes sent the ball forward to Alexander Isak, who easily shifted it away from Van Dijk, allowing him to shoot a shot that curled into the top right corner.
What a chance Newcastle had to make it two only four minutes later.
Gordon chased a long punt forward from Isak, but Joe Gomez appeared to have the situation under control.
The former Everton player’s harrying, however, alarmed him, and his weak pass back was intercepted by the electrifying United Wideman.
He went through, with only Caoimhin Kelleher to beat as St James’ erupted in excitement.
The goalkeeper made himself huge, and Gordon attempted to shoot through his legs, but the Liverpool stopper blocked it.
It became even more costly when Liverpool equalized five minutes after the break.
They were never going to play as poorly as they had in the first quarter, and they came out fired up.
If this is Salah’s farewell tour, it promises to be spectacular, as he provided a stunning assist to help Liverpool draw level.
Mac Allister passed the ball forward from the back for Salah to step onto.
The Egyptian’s control is superb; he simply swirls the ball around his boot without looking.
Lewis Hall might as well not have been there because he sought to stop him from causing any damage.
He was only waiting for a teammate to make a run into the area, and with a flick of his outside boot, Salah brilliantly placed the ball in the path of Curtis Jones, who fired into the near top corner.
Liverpool was up and running, looking for a second goal right away.
Cody Gakpo volleyed just wide, and when he crossed, Darwin Nunez snuck in at the far post but couldn’t connect.
However, Newcastle was not finished, and Gordon made amends for his earlier error by putting Newcastle back in the lead in the 62nd minute.
Tonali sent the ball to Isak, who released him, but there was still much work to be done with Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah close by.
He turned between the two of them and fired a low shot that missed Kelleher.
What a game we had on our hands now, as Liverpool equalized six minutes later.
