Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola believes his side did enough to earn a point in their Premier League opener against Newcastle United.
Goals from Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock seemed to have given Matthias Jaissle a winning start to life as Newcastle manager, with Cody Gakpo having briefly levelled for the visitors in the second half.
Liverpool were given a late reprieve when substitute Victor Munoz was upended in the box by Lewis Hall to earn his side a penalty.
Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to hammer the penalty into the roof of the net in the ninth minute of added time, ensuring Liverpool avoided their first opening-day defeat since 2012.
"It's probably not the result you want when you come in before the game but we definitely deserve this point and even more," Iraola told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"The team has never given up and we've recovered one point and probably the taste is better because we score in the last minute."
In a fixture famous for its dramatic twists, it was perhaps fitting that the match ended the way it did.
Fans of both sides had come together before kick-off to pay tribute to Kevin Keegan, who died last month at the age of 75.
A large tifo showing images of Keegan, along with the words "King Kev", was visible in one stand, while in the centre circle there was a moving mosaic of shirts left outside the stadium following the news of his death.
Keegan played for both clubs and managed Newcastle during the 1990s, bringing a brand of entertaining football that fans still yearn for today.
When the action got under way, it was Newcastle who struck first following a lightning counterattack that ended with Elanga coolly slotting past Alisson Becker in Liverpool's goal in the fifth minute.
Gakpo equalised with a long-range effort in the 55th minute, but Willock, who had only just come on to replace William Osula, restored Newcastle's lead with a fine finish from the edge of the box fewer than three minutes later.
It looked to be enough to give new Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle a first win until Hall, who had an impressive game up to that point, stuck out a tired leg that sent Munoz tumbling in the area in injury time.
Szoboszlai steadied himself against the cacophony of the St James' Park faithful to fire beyond Lukas Hornicek in the Magpies' goal.
"I've liked a lot of the things I've seen from the team," Iraloa said. "There's definitely things to improve, like the goals, but I've seen a lot of things I've liked from the team. I've liked the energy, especially the players coming from the bench. I think we finished the game quite strong physically."
Szoboszlai praised the players who came off the bench, with Munoz, the Spain winger who had looked set to join Newcastle before an 11th-hour switch to Anfield, making a real impact.
"We will never give up. I can guarantee you that," . "We have to fight every time - all day long during the 90 minutes. Everybody who came off the bench also made an impact as well. We need the whole squad and we need to be ready."
It denied Jaissle a famous win on his Premier League debut. The German replaced Eddie Howe over the summer after guiding Al Ahli Saudi to back-to-back triumphs in the Asian Champions League.
Jaissle did not hold back when discussing the incident involving Hall and Munoz, insisting that the contact was insufficient to award a penalty.
Jaissle said: "For me, it was no penalty – it was a really soft one. If you give that, we will see many, many penalties. I don't think that Lewis can do anything else; he cannot just disappear on the field! It’s a really soft penalty. If you give these penalties, then you have to give a lot in this season and I’m not sure if that’s good for football."
