The lack of goals being scored is becoming a worrying problem for Newcastle United.
In 13 Premier League matches this season, Newcastle United have only scored 14 goals. To put that in perspective, only four top-flight sides have scored less.
Just as it looked as though Newcastle had solved their goal crisis, the November international break halted all momentum and the Magpies have reverted to looking toothless.
The 1-1 scoreline against Crystal Palace was flattering. The defending was exemplary, but Newcastle failed to take a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes and that is unacceptable – especially against a side who started the day in the relegation zone.
As Eddie Howe pointed out, Newcastle were only a few minutes away from picking up three points – but fans are understandably concerned by performances, especially when it comes to goals.
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United goes down injured during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC at Selhurst ...
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Newcastle break four-year Premier League record vs Crystal Palace
The goal crisis is a tricky puzzle that Howe is currently struggling to solve. Newcastle have the same attacking players that scored a whopping 85 goals in 38 games last season, yet this campaign things have not clicked.
Anthony Gordon’s body language has been poor and Alexander Isak suffered a fresh injury blow against Palace. Behind them, it’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from.
As pointed out by The Athletic, Newcastle’s attacking display against Palace was so poor it actually broke a four-year Premier League record.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
Newcastle became the first team to score in a Premier League match despite not having an effort on target since Watford against Southampton in 2020.
Throughout the 90 minutes, Newcastle only built up an expected goals (xG) figure of 0.04.
If the Magpies had held on for the win, it would have been the most “statistically undeserved” win in the top-flight with a lower expected goals tally than when Watford won in 2016 with just 0.12 xG.
What Eddie Howe said about Newcastle’s goal crisis is worrying
When things go wrong, attention turns to Howe. As the Newcastle manager, it falls on him to fix problems – and the lack of goals is certainly a problem.
However, when asked about Newcastle’s struggles after the match, his comments were worrying.
Howe appeared to have no answers, saying: “It’s a difficult one to answer, because we haven’t changed anything. You’re always trying to evolve and improve, but we certainly haven’t changed our attacking philosophy in any way.
“The teams I’ve managed have always, traditionally, scored goals. We’ve always been a very attacking, front-foot team, so nothing’s changed in our preparation or in that perspective. We’re just going through a phase, I think, at the moment where we’re struggling, but I think we’ll come out of that.”
If the plan is simply just to continue and wait it out, then Newcastle may endure a difficult evening against Liverpool on Wednesday.
Related Posts