Yamal's late penalty earns Barca a draw against Newcastle

A dramatic penalty from Lamine Yamal in the dying moments spared Barcelona from losing to Newcastle in a 1-1 draw during the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.

The hosts appeared set to claim a famous victory at St James Park after Harvey Barnes netted in the 86th minute.

Though Yamal had been quiet throughout, he displayed remarkable poise from the penalty spot following a foul on Dani Olmo by Malick Thiaw right at the end of added time.

The Spanish champions know they face a tough challenge in the return leg on March 18, yet they can depart Tyneside with some relief following a lacklustre showing under Hansi Flick.

Newcastles push for a first-ever quarter-final appearance suffered an early setback with Anthony Gordon sidelined by illness and starting on the bench.

Gordon leads the Champions League scoring charts with 10 goals this term, behind only Kylian Mbappe, and his absence was felt as the Magpies mounted an intense opening assault.

Eddie Howe described the clash as the most significant in club history, with the teams hunger to rebound from an FA Cup loss to Manchester City and a underwhelming Premier League campaign evident.

In a gutsy selection, Howe opted for William Osula in place of record signing Nick Woltemade, pairing him with Yoane Wissa in attack.

Osulas speed exposed Barcelonas high line in the early exchanges, though the best chance before the interval arose from a set piece.

Joan Garcia fumbled Sandro Tonali's header and required a crucial goal-line block from Pau Cubarsi to avert disaster.

Newcastle kept up the pressure after the break.

Anthony Elanga missed a chance to set up Barnes for an easy tap-in as his cut-back was intercepted by Garcia.

Barcelona finally mustered a genuine opportunity after almost 70 minutes, with Robert Lewandowski nodding Raphinha's delivery astray.

Lewandowski made way for Marcus Rashford, who had bagged a brace against Newcastle at this venue during the league phase.

Howe sought a decisive spark from his substitutes, including Gordon.

An offside call rescued Barca when Joelinton believed he had scored after Barnes hit the upright.

Barcelonas approach of merely surviving at 0-0 was clear as Ronald Araujo feigned injury to delay play by lying on the pitch.

Referee Marco Guida barred the Uruguayan from quick re-entry, allowing Newcastle to capitalise with Barnes free at the far post, where Araujo ought to have marked him, to finish Jacob Murphy's delivery.

Newcastles strong performance unravelled due to a single error, as Thiaw clumsily upended the agile Olmo in the penalty area.

Yamal calmly deceived Aaron Ramsdale to secure a point, meaning Newcastle must produce something special at Camp Nou to advance to the last eight.