Paul Dummett’s late strike rescued a point for Newcastle as Manchester United missed the chance to go level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham.
It was a remarkable end to a game that had seen the away side lead twice.
Wayne Rooney’s penalty and Jesse Lingard’s finish put them 2-0 up before Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty levelled the scores.
Rooney’s second looked to have won it for Louis van Gaal’s side but Dummett salvaged the draw in the last minute.
The point earned is not enough to lift Newcastle out of the bottom three – they remain a point and place behind 17th-placed Swansea – but it represents another notable improvement following three successive 1-0 league defeats.
For Louis van Gaal’s side, it will represent two points lost and a step backwards after back-to-back Premier League and FA Cup victories had offered improvement on a winless December.
Following criticism of Manchester United’s attacking prowess, in a season that had seen them score just 24 goals in 20 league games prior to Tuesday,
Van Gaal himself admitted on Monday that he has been “very bored” at times watching his side.
He can have no such complaints after this hugely entertaining, see-saw game, which produced some of their best attacking play of the season.
The England striker gave them the lead from the spot after Mike Dean’s controversial call to award a penalty against Chancel Mbemba after his arm blocked Marouane Fellaini’s back-post header from a corner.
But it was his role in setting up Lingard for the second – holding the ball up before rolling a perfectly timed pass into the winger’s path for a low, angled finish – and his superbly struck 20-yard second, after Memphis Depay’s shot had deflected to him, that really showcased the 30-year-old’s talent, the latter of which drew a rare smile from his manager.
However, United’s attacking display was let down by key misses from Lingard, who blazed over from inside the box at 2-1, and Fellaini, who headed straight at Rob Elliott from point-blank range when his side led 3-2.
Ultimately, though, Van Gaal will be left bemoaning an area in which his side have largely excelled this season, as a series of defensive lapses cost them victory.
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