Newcastle and Liverpool pay tribute to Kevin Keegan before 2-2 draw at St James’ Park

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Dominik Szoboszlai converted a stoppage-time penalty to snatch a draw as Newcastle and Liverpool served up a Premier League thriller of which Kevin Keegan would have been proud.

The Hungary international struck in the ninth minute of added time to clinch a 2-2 draw which extended his side’s unbeaten run at St James’ Park to 10 games after Lewis Hall had been adjudged to have brought down substitute Victor Munoz.

It was tough on the hosts, who looked to have won it through substitute Joe Willock’s 57th-minute strike just seconds after his introduction in the wake of the Cody Gakpo equaliser which had cancelled out Anthony Elanga’s first-half opener.

On a day when Tyneside and Merseyside united to celebrate Keegan’s contribution to both clubs, Yoane Wissa turned in his best performance yet for Newcastle as £130million man Alexander Isak, the man he was in part bought to replace, suffered a miserable return to St James’ in front of a hostile crowd of 52,630.

New Magpies boss Matthias Jaissle, who has had just weeks to work with a squad which could still be reshaped further before the transfer window closes, will have been delighted with much of what he saw from his players, while opposite number Andoni Iraola headed back across the Pennines relieved, but with questions to be answered.

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Both sets of players had emerged for the warm-up wearing Keegan number seven shirts before an emotional tribute, but the temperature rose significantly on kick-off with Isak a target for the home fans.

The jeers turned to rapturous cheers after just five minutes when impressive debutant Amar Dedic slid the ball into the path of Will Osula, who timed his pass to Elanga to perfection and looked on as the Sweden international raced away from Milos Kerkez before slotting a right-foot shot across Alisson Becker and into the far corner.

The visitors’ response was immediate and goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek reacted well to make a fine save from Florian Wirtz’s deflected 18th-minute attempt, but with Jaissle’s men careless in possession, they repeatedly invited pressure they did not need.

Lewis Miley’s raking 22nd-minute pass allowed Dedic to fire in a shot which clipped Kerkez and looped out for a corner and Jeremy Jacquet did just enough to prevent Osula from latching on to Wissa’s through-ball.

For all they continued to dominate possession, Liverpool were creating little of note, Szoboszlai drilling a 26th-minute free-kick straight into the defensive wall after being tugged back by Wissa, and the half-time whistle arrived with the home side’s narrow lead intact.

Szoboszlai caused problems with an early corner as the game resumed, but the Magpies might have done better after Harvey Barnes and Elanga broke at pace, but failed to punish the Reds, and Miley was similarly unable to test Alisson with a 48th-minute effort.

Cody Gakpo curled a 53rd-minute strike just over with Hornicek rooted to the spot, but he was much more accurate two minutes later when he was given time and space to rifle the ball past the keeper with a skidding 25-yard drive.

However, Newcastle were quickly back in front after Wissa’s quick feet opened up space for substitute Willock, who stepped inside before shooting unerringly across Alisson.

Jaissle’s side threatened to add to their tally with substitute Jacob Ramsey dragging a 70th-minute volley wide and Alisson denying Wissa one-on-one.

But they were undone at the death when referee Stuart Attwell, to Hall’s anguish and surprise, pointed to the spot and Szoboszlai obliged from 12 yards.

Keegan, who played for both clubs before going on to manage Newcastle from 1992-1997 and then again briefly in 2008, died aged 75 on July 20 from stomach cancer.

Members of Keegan’s family were in the directors’ box, as were many of his former players during his first stint at Newcastle, including Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Faustino Asprilla.

Both Newcastle and Liverpool players warmed up with ‘Keegan 7′ emblazoned on the back of their shirts, while a giant mosaic made from tributes that were left outside St James’ Park following the death of the former England captain was displayed on the centre circle before kick-off.