The Newcastle head coach admitted he delivered a fierce halftime warning about belief and intensity before watching his side fight back, only to concede an 88th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the BayArena.

Howe said: "I was not happy at all at the break. We did not play with enough belief in either phase. We had chances to counter and score, but we were not incisive enough. You have to make things happen and really believe internally."

Anthony Gordon confirmed the manager's message hit home, admitting: "The manager gave us a kick up the backside and we reacted well."

Newcastle had already conceded injury-time goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley in the Premier League before Alejandro Grimaldo punished them again late on. Howe rejected the idea that timing was the issue, insisting the problem lies in their defensive structure. "It is not the timing, it is the way we are conceding," he said. "Everything is annoying about not winning. It was too easy for them to go through the middle of our defence."

The evening brought further frustration as Joelinton was forced off. Howe admitted: "It looks like a groin injury. I don't know how serious it is yet."

Newcastle entered the match one point behind Bayer Leverkusen but extended their winless record against German sides to four games (two draws, two defeats). The hosts struck first when Robert Andrich's header deflected off Bruno Guimaraes and wrong-footed Aaron Ramsdale, the first time Newcastle had conceded before half-time in this season's Champions League.

Leverkusen threatened again before the break, with Jarell Quansah forcing a sharp save from Ramsdale. Newcastle improved after Howe's halftime outburst and were handed a lifeline when Mark Flekken fouled Nick Woltemade. Gordon buried the resulting penalty, his third in three matches, to level the contest.

The Magpies then turned the game around when Gordon delivered a superb cross for Lewis Miley, who guided a precise header inside the far post. Newcastle nearly put the contest out of reach as Malick Thiaw and Jacob Murphy both went close, with Murphy striking the post.

But their missed chances proved costly. With two minutes left, Aleix Garcia combined neatly with Ibrahim Maza before slipping in Grimaldo, who steered in a calm finish to seal a 2-2 draw and keep Leverkusen's top-eight hopes alive.

Despite the setback, Howe insisted qualification remains within reach. "It leaves it in our hands," he said. "We have two tough games to come, but we now focus back on the Premier League where we are in a decent vein of form."

Newcastle would have climbed to sixth with a win, but must now regroup quickly as their Champions League campaign remains delicately poised.

Xabi Alonso's tactical gamble pays off in Leverkusen's win over Dortmund