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Newcastle United conceded a 94th-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Marc Guehi’s own goal saw Newcastle break the deadlock in the second half before the Palace skipper set up Daniel Munoz’s stoppage time leveller.
Here are five talking points from the game...
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Sandro Tonali returns to the Newcastle United starting line-up
Despite the disappointment of the performance and result, both changes had a positive impact for Newcastle. Tonali’s work on and off the ball made him the pick of Newcastle’s front six while Burn made a crucial goalline clearance and won the physical battle against Jean-Philippe Mateta to keep Palace at bay until the final minutes.
And Howe highlighted both for praise after the game.
“I thought [Burn] was magnificent today and did really well considering he's not really trained,” said the Newcastle boss. “I thought Sandro was excellent, certainly from a defensive viewpoint he put out a lot of fires for us. His athleticism in transitions is always important.”
Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United celebrates with teammate Sandro Tonali after Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace (not pictured) scores an own-goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC at Selhurst Park on November 30, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United celebrates with teammate Sandro Tonali after Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace (not pictured) scores an own-goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC at Selhurst Park on November 30, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United celebrates with teammate Sandro Tonali after Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace (not pictured) scores an own-goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC at Selhurst Park on November 30, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle hit with fresh injury concern
Newcastle’s players were dealt a couple of early blows with Joelinton, Joe Willock and Alexander Isak going down after taking knocks early on. Joelinton required treatment on his shoulder but was able to complete the match while Isak succumbed to a hip issue after just 20 minutes.
“It was a contact issue,” Howe said on Isak. “Not a muscle pull which is good news for us. We hope he’ll recover quickly but at this moment, we don't know.”
Harvey Barnes came on to replace Isak with Anthony Gordon moving into a central role while Newcastle’s two most natural strikers, Callum Wilson and Will Osula, remained on the bench. Wilson eventually came on with 15 minutes remaining as Howe suggested the striker is not currently ready to play longer than 30 minutes having gone seven months without a competitive game for the club.
As a result, Gordon will likely be tasked to lead the line against Liverpool on Wednesday evening should Isak not be fit enough to start.
Newcastle United striker Alexander IsakNewcastle United striker Alexander Isak
Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak | Getty Images
Marc Guehi scores his first Newcastle United goal
Newcastle broke the deadlock early in the second half with a well-worked free-kick routine as Lewis Hall and Tonali linked up to find Anthony Gordon whose low ball deflected in off Marc Guehi.
And without registering a shot on goal, Newcastle took the lead. Coincidentally it was through a player they tried to sign during the summer transfer window. But with the Palace captain entering the final 18 months of his contract and Newcastle still understood to be interested in signing the player, perhaps it won’t be the last time he scores for The Magpies.
Newcastle were comitted to spending around £70million on Guehi during the summer window before eventually walking away from the deal as Palace held out for an improved offer. The decision not to accept Newcastle’s significant bid was understood to be a source of contention amongst the Palace heirarchy following the summer transfer window with Guehi’s value now effectively dropping as his contract runs down.
And with The Magpies still interested in the Palace captain, perhaps it won’t be the last time he scores for the club.
Zero shots from Newcastle United
While Howe felt his side had ‘done enough’ to secure three points at Palace, they failed to register a shot throughout the game. Not a shot on target, just a proper shot.
Joelinton’s blocked effort on 43 minutes was the only instance of a Newcastle player even attempting a shot during a match in which they enjoyed the majority of possesion against a side sitting second bottom of the table at the start of the day. Joelinton’s shot gave Newcastle a measly expected goals figure of 0.02 compared to Palace’s 1.38 from 16 shots in the match.
And Newcastle were just moments away from breaking a Premier League record for a side to win a match with the lowest expected goals figure.
“It was a strange performance from us with the ball because I thought there was a lot of good in the first two thirds but nothing in the final third,” Howe said. “A lot of set plays and opportunities to potentially get ahead on something but we look a little bit low on confidence.
“Of course losing Alex was a huge blow to that and again it meant we were without a recognised striker which is very difficult, though I thought Anthony did well. I thought the team performed pretty well in the first two thirds but just really lacked a cutting edge up front.”
That has been the story of Newcastle’s season on a whole with just 14 goals from their opening 13 Premier League matches. After scoring 85 goals in the Premier League last season, a record for the club over a 38 game season, Newcastle have started the 2024-25 campaign as one of the lowest scorers in the top flight with only Manchester United, Everton (after 12 games) Ipswich Town, Southampton and Palace themselves scoring fewer.
Joelinton celebrates against Crystal Palace.Joelinton celebrates against Crystal Palace.
Joelinton celebrates against Crystal Palace. | AFP via Getty Images
Joelinton reaches Newcastle United milestone as Selhurst Park gesture quickly backfires
Joelinton marked his 200th appearance for Newcastle as well as three years since ‘transformation’ match against Norwich City on Saturday afternoon. Statistically speaking, the Brazilian was the closest player to scoring for Newcastle at Selhurst Park due to the fact he was the only one to attempt a shot but on the whole it was a largely unconvincing milestone outing for the player.
As Newcastle looked set to see out the win, Joelinton prematurely celebrated the ball going out of play in front of the Palace supporters as the home side were awarded a throw-in. But his joy was short-lived as Palace scored in their next attack with Daniel Munoz drifting free of the Newcastle No. 7 to head in at the back post to make it 1-1.
The agonising timing of the goal made it feel like two points dropped for Newcastle or even a defeat in many ways. In reality, it was simply footballing justice being served.
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