Two goals & a controversial penalty! USMNT star Brenden Aaronson left ‘devastated’ after eventful appearance for Leeds in dramatic defeat at Newcastle

Aaronson, who was on target during a passionate 1-1 draw with old adversaries Manchester United at Elland Road, thought that he had done enough to earn Leeds at least a point during the visit to Tyneside in their next fixture.

He opened the scoring in that contest, before putting the Whites 3-2 up with 11 minutes left on the clock. A thrilling climax to proceedings in the North East saw the home side restore parity just beyond the 90-minute mark - after Aaronson was deemed to have blocked a cross with his hand - before Harvey Barnes grabbed a winner in the 12th minute of stoppage-time.

Aaronson, who faced plenty of uncomfortable questions regarding his present role and long-term future early in the 2025-26 campaign, has plenty to be positive about at the moment. He has, however, been unable to prevent Leeds from allowing five points to slip through their grasp across their last two Premier League fixtures.

He told the club’s official media team following a gut-wrenching defeat at Newcastle: “I am devastated. That is football at the end of the day, and of course I am mad at myself, but I think we could have done better defending on a couple of occasions.

“I think we are in a little bit of a situation where when we score, we are kind of giving up a goal not too long after, so I think we need to change that and we will look at that.

“We are all upset. We know that we let this slip away a little bit but you always have to take the positives. To come here and to go up three times in a row and almost tie and win the game shows how good this team is. We need to just keep going from here.

“We need to not let this bring us down. We have an FA Cup game at the weekend and then right back into the league at home.”

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Leeds were unhappy with the award of a late spot-kick, which was eventually confirmed following a VAR review. Aaronson’s actions were unintentional, as he turned his back on a cross and saw the ball strike his arm, but the match officials stuck with their original decision and Bruno Guimaraes made no mistake from 12 yards.

Whites boss Daniel Farke told reporters afterwards: “Late heartbreak from my lads in the 91st minute, a handball given. The referee was very happy to give the situation without a split-second wait and thinking about it. Of course, the whole crowd was asking for it and he was happy to give it really quickly.”

The German tactician added: “For me, it's never in the sense (spirit) of the game to give a handball for such a situation. Brenden has no intention to play the ball with the hand, no intention to make his body bigger, he's just hit by the ball from three yards.”

Aaronson was replaced a matter of minutes after conceding the penalty that presented Newcastle with a route back into the game. The 25-year-old appeared to be struggling physically after running himself into the ground across 97 minutes, but Farke claims that he was merely nursing “cramp” and there is “nothing major” to report on the fitness front.

Aaronson may, however, be given a breather when Leeds return to action on Sunday in a FA Cup third-round clash with Championship side Derby. Farke has the option of shuffling his pack at Pride Park.

Aaronson, though, will be eager to see as much game time as possible while enjoying a personal purple patch. He has found form at an important stage of the season, with USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino needing to be convinced of his worth ahead of a home World Cup this summer.