Without Alexander Isak, who was unsurprisingly left out amid uncertainty surrounding the striker’s future, the Magpies recovered from going 1-0 down in the first half and fought back to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Matt Targett and Jacob Murphy.
But United were denied a victory when ex-Middlesbrough striker Kike Garcia equalised in the last minute.
Aaron Ramsdale saved a penalty on his debut, and Lewis Hall also returned from injury, playing 45 minutes before being replaced in what Newcastle say was a planned substitution at half-time.
Eddie Howe split his first team squad, with the likes of Anthony Elanga, Sandro Tonali, Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon not involved on Friday night and instead set to feature in Saturday’s friendly.
Here are the main talking points to emerge from Friday night’s win:
**ISAK'S ABSENCE**
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As was always going to be the case on Friday night, the central character was an absentee. Isak, as expected, was left out of the squad on the back of a week of training alone at Benton.
This has been a draining summer on Tyneside. A string of transfer setbacks and now the Isak situation means there’s a dark cloud of uncertainty over the club just a week out from the new season.
And what has made it more difficult to stomach is the fact this summer, after windows of limits and restrictions, was supposed to be different. Eddie Howe said so himself. And yet the only debutants on display on Friday night were a new deputy goalkeeper – though perhaps that’s doing Ramsdale a disservice – and a teenager signed to initially join up with the academy.
Isak was never going to feature this weekend after the way the last fortnight has played out, and the most interesting and revealing aspect of Friday night was not what happened on the pitch but what Howe has to say on the matter when he speaks to the media after the game. It’s the first time Howe will spoken to the press since the return from Asia, with Isak being made to train alone all this week and not part of a family day at the club’s training ground on Wednesday.
In Isak’s absence, Will Osula led the line for Newcastle against Espanyol but struggled to make his mark. There was no shortage of effort from the young striker but the closest he came to a goal was a deflected strike from distance early in the second half that was well saved. Antony Gordon is expected to lead the line in the second game of the weekend against Atletico, and unless Isak is reintegrated into the squad in the next week – which feels extremely unlikely at this stage –Gordon feels the most likely starter up front in next week's Aston Villa opener.
That's hardly ideal and highlights just how short Newcastle are up-front and why the Magpies simply can’t and won’t consider granting Isak his transfer wish until a replacement is in the building. One way or the other, a resolution is required.
**SEUNG-SOO PARK CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE START**
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The plan for Seung-soo Park, revealed Newcastle in their statement confirming the teenager’s signing last month, was that the 19-year-old would initially join up with the club’s academy and train with the Under-21s.
But the fact he was included in an otherwise senior starting XI for this penultimate friendly of the summer highlights just how much the winger has impressed since joining the club from Suwon Bluewings.
And he didn’t look at all overawed in his first outing at St James’ Park. In fact, it was the direct opposite. Direct and confident, there was a spark of excitement in the stands every time Park got the ball. Playing on the left side of attack, Park got at his man at every opportunity and two or three times in the first half cut back this way and that before delivering a cross into the box. The applause the winger received from the stands when he was replaced just after the hour mark was well deserved.
There will obviously be patience with Park at Newcastle, with bosses keen to bide their time with the youngster and not rush him into the first team fold. But the early signs are very promising.
**TARGETT’S ROLLERCOASTER NIGHT**
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Hands up who predicted Matt Targett would start in midfield for Newcastle against Espanyol? And keep your hand up if you had him down as an anytime goalscorer.
The way he timed his run for his header to cancel out Edu Exposito’s fine rifled opener for Espanyol, you’d be excused for thinking Targett had played as a midfielder throughout his career.
The first half turned into quite the rollercoaster of emotions for the 29-year-old. Shortly after his headed equaliser, Targett got his timing wrong as he scythed down Roberto Fernandez in the box and conceded a penalty, but was relieved to be bailed out by Ramsdale, who made a fine save to his right. Ramsdale made another excellent stop late on, and while this has been a hugely frustrating summer for the Magpies on the transfer front, the two new recruits who featured on Friday impressed.
On the subject of Ramsdale, it was noted above that the 27-year-old had arrived as deputy goalkeeper but is that actually the case? The pecking order between the posts is by no means clear cut and it will be interesting to see how the battle between Ramsdale and Nick Pope plays out.
**CRUCIAL COMING MONTHS FOR TEENAGER**
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This is an important season for Lewis Miley, who will be desperate to kick-on and put last term’s frustrations behind him.
A broken foot 13 months ago meant Miley was always playing catch-up last season and the 19-year-old ended up making just one Premier League start and 14 appearances in total, many of them late cameos.
But this coming season should be different. Not only will Howe have to rotate his squad to deal with the extra workload and demands of the Champions League, but Newcastle are now without Sean Longstaff in midfield and Joe Willock has suffered another injury setback. Even if another midfielder arrives, with Newcastle’s surprise interest in John McGinn having emerged in recent days, Miley is likely to have a key role to play this term.
He made his mark against Espanyol, setting up the leveller for Targett with a perfectly weighted lofted cross.
**EARLY SIGNS OF WHAT NEW RECRUIT WILL OFFER**
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It’s been a struggle to strengthen the squad on the pitch this season, but Newcastle did manage to make one crucial behind the scenes addition earlier this summer, with Martin Mark arriving as new set-piece coach.
And this first St James’ Park outing of the summer offered a glimpse of what the new recruit has been working on with the players.
Every time Newcastle have a set-piece, Howe and Jason Tindall take a step back and allow Mark to take centre-stage in the technical area.
And the Dane watched on in the second half as one of his well-worked routines almost resulted in a goal. After winning a free-kick 30-odd yards out, Jacob Murphy shaped to shoot, only to roll the ball into the path of Targett. The left-back lofted a cross in the direction of Fabian Schar whose low drive was well saved.
Soon after, Newcastle took the lead when an Espanyol defensive calamity gifted Murphy a tap-in, which looked set to be the winner until Kike's last gasp leveller.
**_Newcastle: Ramsdale; Krafth, Schär, Burn, Targett; Miley, Guimarães, Hall (Harrison, 46); Murphy, Osula, Seung-soo (Neave, 62)_**
**_Subs not used: Ruddy, Gillespie, Shahar, Heffernan, Murphy, Bailey, Charlton, Sanusi, Kuol_**