ENGLAND
Benitez' Newcastle beat Norwich in "nonsense" added-on time
Rafa Benitez jumped into Mitrovic's arms after an incredible injury time comeback but Norwich manager Alex Neil couldn't work out where the 6 added minutes came from.
Newcastle United, under the leadership of Rafa Benitez, scored two goals in injury time at the end of the game to beat Norwich 4-3 at St James' Park.
Why you don't leave a game early
Down 1-3 with just 20 minutes of normal time remaining, a second goal for Dwight Gayle gave the home side some hope of salvaging a point but as the 90 minutes ticked over this appeared to be slipping away. But as the fourth official lifted the electronic board to reveal a further six minutes were to be played the expectant noise of the fans rose. And what a finish they were to witness with goals from Gouffran (90+5) and the completion of the Gayle hat-trick (90+6) securing a memorable win.
Rafa rapture
The win prevented Norwich going top and brought the Magpies to within a point of their opponents who sit in second place. The managers' reactions were not surprising:
Benitez' joy could not be hidden on the field as he embraced Mitrovic after the game but said, "I am the kind of manager who gets excited, but especially inside because I am really proud when I see the team reacting. I am really proud of them."
"Some people will jump or run or whatever, but I am happy inside because I think it's something that's difficult to achieve," he added.
Neil's nonsense
Alex Neil in the away dugout with what he saw:
"This seems to be a strange place for me because the twice I have been here, the games have been probably two of the most bizarre games I have ever been involved in as a player, a manager, anything, " referring to the 6-2 loss last year.
"We were comfortable. I don’t know where six minutes added came from. That was just nonsense. However, if it’s six minutes we need to defend for six minutes, not four and a half."
