Newcastle United were held to a 2-2 draw by La Liga side Espanyol in their penultimate pre-season friendly.
Edu Exposito put the visitors in front in the 17th minute before Matt Targett quickly levelled. A second-half goal Jacob Murphy looked to have earned the Magpies a first win of pre-season but Kiko Garcia equalised right at the death.
Aaron Ramsdale made his debut after arriving on loan from Southampton last week, while Park Seung-Soo was handed a first start on the back of two impressive cameos against Team K-League and Tottenham Hotspur in South Korea.
Ramsdale lined up behind a back four of Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Lewis Hall, who made his first start since March. Targett started in the midfield three alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley, while Will Osula led the line with Park and Jacob Murphy either side.
Ramsdale was breached 17 minutes into his debut when Edu Exposito scored from distance. But Matt Targett got Newcastle back on level terms four minutes later, heading home Lewis Miley’s cross.
Targett was involved at both ends after later conceding a penalty for a mis-timed tackle on Roberto Fernandez. Ramsdale, however, kept the scoreline level, diving right to deny Javier Puado.
Jacob Murphy put Newcastle in front in the 77th minute after Espanyol were pressed into a mistake. That looked to be the winner until Kiko Garcia equalised late on when he headed home Pere Milla’s cross.
Our writer Jordan Cronin was at St James’ Park - and here are our Newcastle United player ratings:
1. GettyImages-2229122496
Getty Images
2. Aaron Ramsdale - 7
Beaten by a wonderstrike from Edu Exposito before diving the right way to keep out Javier Puado’s penalty. Excellent save to deny Tyrhys Dolan late on. Distributed the ball well. | Getty Images
3. Emil Krafth - 7
Full of energy and effort down the right side. Got into some good crossing position but couldn’t quite deliver. | Getty Images
4. Fabian Schar - 7
Gave the ball away cheaply at times but did what was asked of him defensively. Saw a header from a corner saved in the first-half. | Getty Images