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Aaron Ramsdale threw his arms out in anger. Malick Thiaw slammed the turf. A stunned Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy had their hands on their head.

History was repeating itself for Newcastle United as the BayArena erupted following an 88th-minute equaliser for Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo.

After showing remarkable spirit to come from behind, and take the lead against the German side, Newcastle were again denied a precious victory.

They had conceded yet another late goal.

“You have to stand up and be counted and we didn’t do it well enough,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said following the 2-2 draw in the Champions League.

“That’s a team thing – the whole group realising the importance of defending our goal.”

Newcastle have now conceded nine goals in the final 10 minutes of games in all competitions this season.

Only Nottingham Forest have let in more among Premier League clubs.

Newcastle aspire to be a top team, of course.

And there was no danger of the visitors having one eye on Sunday’s Wear-Tyne derby.

Such was the importance of this game, and the respect he had for Leverkusen, Howe named arguably his strongest available side as Lewis Hall, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes all came into the team.

Yet they quickly found themselves going behind in familiar circumstances after failing to get the first contact on Aleix Garcia’s corner kick.

Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich easily shrugged off Tonali at the back post to head the ball off the back off Bruno Guimaraes and into the net.

“We’re not doing it well enough,” Gordon said. “Again it comes back to mentality. We need to be stronger, we need to be better.

“Ultimately, it’s consistency. We need to be a consistent team in every phase of the game.”

Newcastle have spent time working on set-plays of late, but a usually assured side have looked shaky from corners in the last week or so, in particular.

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero scored a dramatic late equaliser from a corner last Tuesday before Jacob Ramsey handled the ball inside the box from a similar situation just four days later when Newcastle were 2-0 up against 10-man Burnley.

Zian Flemming scored the resulting penalty that set up a nervy finish, and Newcastle were mightily relieved not to concede another stoppage-time equaliser when Burnley substitute Josh Laurent narrowly headed wide in the last act of the game.

However, this time, Newcastle still had plenty of time to recover after Leverkusen took an early lead.

But that did not make it any less palatable for Howe.

Yet Newcastle found a way to climb it.

Following some strong words at half-time, the visitors rallied after the break and won a penalty courtesy of Nick Woltemade aggressively pressing Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

And after equalising from the spot, Gordon then went on to set up substitute Lewis Miley’s header to put Newcastle in front.

However, another familiar issue reared its head.

Despite taking the lead in the 74th minute, Newcastle were unable to see out the game.

This side have dropped more points from winning positions – 11 – than any other team in the Premier League.

They have failed to win four of their past five away games in all competitions despite taking the lead in all of them at some stage.

Newcastle may have hit the upright through substitute Jacob Murphy after going in front, but Howe’s side began to drop deep against Leverkusen late on, consciously or not.

And Grimaldo’s clever dummy took Newcastle’s midfield out of the game before Leverkusen’s talisman levelled.

It was a familiar story for Howe.

“I don’t think it’s ever a case of sitting back and absorbing pressure,” the Newcastle head coach said.

“That’s not number one in our aim, but you need to do whatever it takes to win. Sometimes that is par for the course, that’s what you have to do.”

Newcastle remain on course for at least a play-off spot and are only a couple of points off the automatic qualification places for the last 16.

But Howe’s team cannot afford to let history repeat itself when they host a PSV side who are starting to hit form, on 21 January, before a trip to the Parc des Princes to take on holders Paris St-Germain a week later.

The deafening jeers that greeted former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola before kick-off turned into away-fan cheers after Manchester City picked up a magnificent Champions League victory at Real Madrid that leaves Xabi Alonso clinging on to his job.

Guardiola’s connections with Real’s rivals was not forgotten by the home faithful and it is ironic that a Barca man might have been the person to hammer the final nail in Alonso’s coffin.

Despite reports beforehand stating Alonso could lose his job with a loss, BBC Sport understands his position is not under immediate threat and is likely to see out the next few days, but a third consecutive defeat at Alaves on Sunday could finally spell the end.

When the referee’s whistle was blown on the 2-1 loss to City on Wednesday, the music inside the venue was pumped up to maximum level, possibly to drown out any boos that may have been directed against Alonso.

By that point, many had already left and once the volume was turned down, “We’ve got Guardiola” was the chant echoing around the stunning Bernabeu stadium from the 2,500 travelling supporters, a moment which will sting all Madridistas.

Asked in the post-match news conference if he had spoken to chairman Florentino Perez, Alonso replied by saying: “I came straight here.”

The start that Real made seemed like they had turned the corner, taking the game to City and going in front courtesy of Rodrygo’s low drilled effort.

But they conceded twice in the final 10 minutes of the first half through Nico O’Reilly poking in from close range and Erling Haaland’s penalty.

The Real ultras dressed all in white behind the goal had been chanting and clapping until that point, but when the Norwegian’s spot-kick rippled the net in front of them they were silenced.

There was, though, a period of unrest between minutes 65 and 71 when supporters whistled at the players in disappointment three times – the message was to say ‘give us more’.

They pushed and created chances thereafter but will it be enough to save Alonso? The impression has been given that they have another gear and it gives him a bit of credit.

There is a general feeling from fans that the manager is not to blame, it is the players that are not following his instructions – they are the ones that need to listen more and start applying what has been asked.

Ex-Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso took over before the Club World Cup in the summer and started this season by winning 13 of his first 14 games, but it started to go wrong after the loss at Liverpool on 4 November.

Real have won just twice in eight games since and there has been an apparent clash of cultures at the club with players seemingly not buying into his strict methods and wanting to adopt a pressing style of play.

Asked if his players had played for him, Alonso said: “The performance has been intense. A professional Champions League level game. They have given their best, so from my side no complaints for anything.

“It is hard to take another defeat but we tried until the end.”

England international Jude Bellingham told TNT Sport that the squad were “100%” behind their manager.

“I personally have a great relationship with him, a lot of the lads do as well,” he added. “After the first run of games we had some really great conversations internally and we felt we were on the back side of that form.

Alonso, however, now seems to be limping on game by game.

His side are second in La Liga, four points adrift of Barca, and the 15-time winners are only in the Champions League top-eight on goal difference.

Since lifting the famous trophy two years ago, Real have lost five of their group-phase games.

Speaking about Alonso’s future, Juan Castro, football journalist for Marca, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I am very pessimistic.

“It is true that it was not a ridiculous defeat because they competed, but another defeat at home, another defeat in a row. It is quite difficult for a coach to hold this.

“We will see what happens, but now the ambience in the Bernabeu is focusing on Xabi Alonso. That is the truth. We will see what is going on, but now I am 100% pessimistic.

“I don’t think Perez wants this kind of manager. What Perez doesn’t accept in any case is the defeat. You don’t have so many options to replace Xabi.

Noni Madueke might reflect on the Champions League win at Club Brugge as a landmark night in his Arsenal career.

The 23-year-old scored two goals in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory, including a stunning effort from 20 yards, with his all-action performance again showing he can be more than a rotation option for manager Mikel Arteta.

“An unbelievable goal,” Arteta said. “When you talk about individual quality and magic moments, that’s it.”

Madueke has a tough task dislodging Arsenal’s key player Bukayo Saka on the right wing, but against Club Brugge he offered a reminder of his talents as one of five players brought into the side after Saturday’s defeat at Aston Villa.

In the summer, his £48.5m signing from Chelsea was questioned by some supporters but the England international won them round with some impressive performances before picking up a knee injury in September that kept him out for about a month.

He returned at the end of November and scored his first goal for Arsenal in the win over Bayern Munich in the Gunners’ last Champions League match.

When given the opportunity, he has demonstrated that his versatility and ability to beat a defender can be a key part of Arsenal’s season.

“I think the bare minimum I need to give to my team is threat,” Madueke told TNT Sports after the win in Bruges. “Obviously trying to score and be as decisive as possible, that’s the next level I need to get to in terms of being consistently decisive for club and country. I think I can reach that level.

“The first goal was really nice, second a tap-in but the first one was sweet. Delighted with the result.

Madueke is the first Arsenal player to score their first three goals for the club all in European competition, and it was his all-round performance that impressed onlookers.

“It wasn’t just with his goals that Madueke made an impact – he did really well throughout the game and showed he is ready to do a job when he is called upon,” said BBC Match of the Day pundit and former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton.

“More and more, Madueke looks like a really smart signing.

“I already thought he was a loss to Chelsea, but you are seeing now he is back from injury that Arsenal can have Saka off that right side, or use [Madueke]. It bodes really well for them with such a busy period coming up.

“In the end though, it was just about getting three points for Arsenal and avoiding any more injuries – and they achieved both of those aims.

Arteta has had to deal with a number of injuries to key players throughout the season but the Gunners are now getting some options back in forward areas.

Gabriel Jesus returned as a substitute for the first time in 342 days from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, while alongside Madueke, captain Martin Odegaard has recently been available again.

Now the Arsenal manager has challenged Madueke to maintain the level he showed against Club Brugge.

“I think at this level you want to win games – you need individual players to step up and to do something different,” Arteta said. “The same as Martinelli as well.

“I’m very happy because now we have some players back in the frontline and you can tell how much better we are with them.

“It’s about consistency. So any player that plays is willing to have those standards and play consistently.