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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.

Benitez' Newcastle beat Norwich in "nonsense" added-on time

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.

MOTM: Dwight Gayle
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MOTM: Dwight Gayle

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:

Rafael Benitez was in bouyant mood during the pre-macth press conference but couldn't have imagined what would play out.
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Rafael Benitez was in bouyant mood during the pre-macth press conference but couldn't have imagined what would play out.Lee SmithREUTERS

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."