Jack Harrison 9, Patrick Bamford 7; Sean Longstaff 4, Joelinton 6: Leeds v Newcastle player ratings

Leeds hammer five past hapless Magpies

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  LEEDS UNITED RATINGS: Illan Meslier, 6 – A couple of early scares for the young goalkeeper who was relieved to see Isaac Hayden’s cross drop on to the bar before his miscued punch was almost a calamitous one, but aside from Jeff Hendrick's composed finish and Ciaran Clark’s header he was untroubled. AP

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  Stuart Dallas, 8 – He found attacking opportunities limited in the early stages as Newcastle started brightly, but he forced Karl Darlow into action with a cross from the right and snuck in round the back to make it 3-2 with a downward header. EPA

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  Luke Ayling, 6 - A remarkable rise through the ranks from the defender who was playing for Yeovil a decade ago this week, but he failed to rise as high as Clark who headed Newcastle back on terms. Reuters

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  Liam Cooper, 7 - The towering defender drew the best out of Darlow with a big header from a corner into a dangerous area and used his strength superbly to expertly marshal Callum Wilson throughout the contest. Reuters

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  Ezgjan Alioski, 8 – A good performance from the full-back who grew into the game as it progressed and provided Jack Harrison with plenty of attacking support on the left. He put the icing on the cake when he fired into the roof of the net for his first Premier League goal. EPA

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  Raphinha, 7 - The Brazilian caused chaos with a superb ball back across the face of goal after good work from Rodrigo and he later showed excellent feet to wriggle free in the penalty area, but could only slice his effort wide. AP

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  Kalvin Phillips, 6 - For all Leeds’ dominance he endured a quiet first-half, and his first notable contribution saw him booked for a late challenge just after the restart, but in truth Bielsa’s men never really needed him to hit full throttle. AP

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  Mateusz Klich, 6 – The tireless midfielder is always in the thick of the action and picked out Dallas with a calculated delivery from the left for 3-2, but he earlier saw yellow for a couple of cynical fouls on Ryan Fraser. AP

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  Rodrigo, 8 - Leeds’ £27 million man skied an early chance, snatching at Harrison’s cross when a cool head was needed, but he assisted the equaliser when his looping header came back off the bar and he combined well with Harrison again to make it 2-1. AP

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  Jack Harrison, 9 – All the talk has been about Patrick Bamford this season, but the winger has been terrific this campaign and he did remarkably well to bring a difficult ball under control and pick out Rodrigo for 2-1 before lashing in a screamer late on. EPA

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  Patrick Bamford, 7 - The forward took his tally for the season to nine with a poacher’s finish, reacting quickest to nod into the empty net after Rodrigo’s initial header had hit the bar. Getty

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  SUBS: Pablo Hernandez, N/R - A return to action from the bench for Spaniard who wasted no time in sprinting away on the counter before calmly squaring for Ezgjan Alioski to seal the win. Getty

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  Jamie Shackleton, N/R - Introduced in place of Mateusz Klich in the 89th minute but he didn’t have time to make an impact. Getty

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  Tyler Roberts, N/R - Brought on for Bamford in the 84th minute, but the contest was finished seconds later as Alioski made it 4-2 and he had little time to contribute thereafter. Getty

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  NEWCASTLE UNIRED RATINGS: Karl Darlow, 6 – A commanding start from the visiting goalkeeper who did well to push a sweetly-struck Stuart Dallas cross to safety with bodies surging into the area before reacting superbly to repel Liam Cooper’s powerful header, but there was only so much he could do. Reuters

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  Jacob Murphy, 4 - It was a long evening for the newly-converted full-back who struggled against Harrison and all too often failed to stop the supply, although he improved once deployed in a more advanced role. AP

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  Federico Fernandez, 4 - Far from his most dominant display at the back, but he did produce a couple of important blocks to see off strikes from Dallas. Sadly, that was about as good as it got on a night to forget for the skipper. AFP

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  Ciaran Clark, 6 - Centre-back Clark epitomised his side’s early spirit with a couple of charging runs out from the back and was fittingly the man to head in the equaliser, but even he couldn’t keep Leeds out as the hosts eventually ran riot. EPA

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  Jamal Lewis, 4 - Steve Bruce spoke about the importance of set-pieces prior to kick-off, so he will have been disappointed to see Lewis float an early opportunity straight out of play, although he fed Fraser on the left to supply the initial cross leading to Hendrick’s strike. AP

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  Jeff Hendrick, 6 - He got through more than his fair share of defending in the opening half hour, but he crept in at the back post to calmly steer beyond Meslier and into the far corner to put his side ahead. EPA

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  Sean Longstaff, 4 - A quiet first half and an even worse second half from the Newcastle local boy, who was caught dawdling on the ball which allowed Leeds to steal back possession as Klich crossed for Dallas to restore Leeds’ lead. EPA

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  Isaac Hayden, 5 - It was a bright start from the midfielder whose misplaced cross clipped the bar as the visitors almost stunned their opponents, but like Longstaff alongside him, he struggled to contain Klich and Rodrigo. AFP

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  Ryan Fraser, 7 - The lively Scot tested Meslier for the first time with a driven cross from the left and the same man crafted the opener when his next delivery picked out Wilson whose flicked header was bundled home by Hendrick. Reuters

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  Joelinton, 6 - Showed a real willingness to drop into deep areas and fulfil his defensive duties, but he could only head a difficult chance over the bar when a rare opportunity fell his way at the other end. Reuters

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  Callum Wilson, 6 - He picked out Jeff Hendrick for the opening goal with a smart glancing header in an industrious display, but despite his work ethic, he had to feed off scraps for large spells, although he almost turned home Jacob Murphy’s cross. Reuters

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  SUBS: Emil Krafth, 6 - The Sweden international’s introduction was a timely one, allowing Murphy to push into midfield, but he failed to stop the rot as Leeds left it late to hit fifth gear. AP

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  Dwight Gayle, N/R - Replaced Joelinton in the 74th minute. He had four goals in four games against the hosts, but he made little distance in this one. Getty

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  Miguel Almiron, 5 - Replaced Fraser in the 75th minute as Steve Bruce looked to freshen things up, but he was guilty of allowing Dallas to race clear and head Leads back into the lead. Getty

Newcastle coach Steve Bruce compared his side's defending to "something you see on a park on a Sunday" after they conceded three times in the last 13 minutes to lose 5-2 at Leeds.

Having seen off Crystal Palace and West Brom this month, the Magpies were chasing a third successive win for the first time since November 2018 but they imploded in the closing stages at Elland Road.

Ciaran Clark had headed them level, exposing Leeds' set-piece fragilities, but Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff dithered on the ball in his own area, leading to Stuart Dallas putting the hosts ahead again after 77 minutes.

The visitors were then caught twice on the counter in the last five minutes as Ezgjan Alioski finished well before Jack Harrison spectacularly found the top corner from 25 yards, much to the chagrin of Bruce.

"Up until 75 minutes I thought we were comfortable. I thought we looked a threat when we equalised," he said. Of course Leeds are always going to ask you questions the way they play, they do it very well, but we've gifted them the two or three goals at the end. Unfortunately they're something which you see on a park on a Sunday.

"We can't make those mistakes we've made here. The third goal in particular where we gave the ball away cheaply in our own box. You get punished for things like that at this level.

"At the wrong time we've given away poor goals, not defended well enough and got punished. It's unacceptable."

Bruce refused to hide behind Newcastle's recent coronavirus crisis, with several of his players still unavailable after contracting the disease, although he feels his side were denied a clear penalty with the score at 1-1.

Leeds captain Liam Cooper came through the back of Callum Wilson, seeming to make no contact with the ball, and even though the incident was checked by the video assistant referee, no spot-kick was given.

Bruce said: "I honestly was all for VAR when they brought it in to make sure the clear and obvious mistakes that the referee misses, that's what the VAR is there for.

"If anybody looks at the challenge you understand that it's a clear penalty. We might not have gone on to win the match but certainly when you take the lead in the Premier League then the outcome could be very, very different.

"I'll leave it to other people to judge."

Leeds fell behind when Jeff Hendrick put the finishing touch to Wilson's flick-on from the fit-again Ryan Fraser's cross, but headers from Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo put Leeds ahead.

Clark headed home from a corner to level matters but the hosts were well worth their win after a barnstorming finish as they leapt above their opponents and moved up to 13th in the Premier League.

Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa said: "It was a deserved victory. In both halves we attacked a lot and created plenty of chances but in the second half we were more efficient.

"The team carried on playing in a calm and organised manner after they levelled the game and eventually we were able to get on top of them again and get on top of them when we needed to."