19 years ago Leeds 3 Newcastle 4 meant top of Premier League at Christmas – Video
Leeds 3 Newcastle 4, what a day that was.
Sir Bobby Robson’s NUFC team coming back to win a blinding game from 3-1 down.
Only four days earlier Newcastle had won 3-1 at Arsenal and then this 4-3 win exactly 19 years ago today on 22 December 2001, meant Newcastle United were guaranteed to be top of the Premier League for Christmas 2001.
My own personal favourite week of supporting Newcastle United was this one back in December 2001, certainly in terms of a week of away games.
Showing just how quickly things can change, if Leeds had won that day then they would have been top at Christmas 2001. Only two season later (2003/04) they were relegated and doomed to a very lengthy spell away from the top tier, which ended in 2020 (how depressing comparing this back in 2001 with how Steve Bruce approached last Wednesday’s match, especially when you consider the attacking spirit Bielsa’s Leeds showed as they hammered an ultra negative NUFC).
At 3-1 down things didn’t look good but what a thrilling fightback – a 4-3 win and who cared about the freezing conditions as Sir Bobby danced a little jig and we were ‘Top of the league’!!
Today in 2001
Leeds United 3 Newcastle United 4Craig Bellamy 36’
Robbie Elliott 59’
Alan Shearer 71’
Nobby Solano 90’(Lee Bowyer 38’)
(Mark Viduka 50’)
(Ian Harte 56’)#NUFC pic.twitter.com/KF5m0RRpiP— NUFCThreatLevel (@NUFCThreatLevel) December 22, 2020
Leeds 3 Newcastle 4
Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Ferdinand, Mills, Harte, Bowyer, Batty, Johnson, Kewell (Bakke 47), Viduka, Fowler
Subs Not Used: Woodgate, Keane, Robinson, Smith
Booked: Viduka, Kelly
Goals: Bowyer 38, Viduka 50, Harte 56
Newcastle: Given, Hughes, O’Brien, Dabizas (Distin 45), Elliott, Solano, Dyer, Speed, Robert (Bernard 78), Shearer, Bellamy (Lua-Lua 90)
Subs Not Used: Acuna, Harper
Booked: Elliott
Goals: Bellamy 38, Elliott 59, Shearer 71 pen, Solano 90
Att: 40,287
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