Poor substitutions, stupid decisions, silly bookings and slack defending - this one had it all.
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 12: Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, applauds the fans after the team's defeat in the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Newcastle United at Selhurst Park on April 12, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
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Eddie Howe braved the away end at Crystal Palace but looked haunted as his side threw away the chance of victory.
That's now a whopping 25 points thrown away from winning positions this season, and Newcastle are worthy of their lowly spot in the Premier League. Howe now has just six games to pick up the pieces but hopes of European football are fading fast and looked on in shock as he applauded fans to a mixed reception.
At Selhurst Park, Newcastle managed to put together half a performance and then lost focus. Poor substitutions, stupid decisions, silly bookings and slack defending - this one had it all.
And how a Palace team that had played just three days earlier in the Europa Conference League were more than grateful to take Newcastle up on their charitable behaviour.
Newcastle kicked off with their usual 4-3-3 formation with Sandro Tonali immediately booting the ball out of play in a bid to get United up the pitch, but Crystal Palace quickly won back possession and looked to pin the Magpies back in their own half. In a scrappy opening, Newcastle took until the sixth minute to break through the Palace rearguard, but after William Osula burst through, he was wrestled off the ball by Jaydee Canvot.
Palace star Will Hughes tossed a dangerous ball into the box two minutes later from the right, but it was gathered by Aaron Ramsdale. On 10 minutes Lewis Hall crossed into the final third for Sven Botman from a free-kick but the Dutchman failed to hit the target.
The Magpies made another meaningful move forward when Jacob Murphy clipped in a right wing cross and won a corner on 13 minutes. But the set-piece was wasted as Hall's corner came to nothing and Palace cleared their lines.
Just before the midway stage of the first half, Anthony Gordon went galloping through and looked to test Dean Henderson. But he waited too long and was eventually crowded out by the home defence.
The game edged past the half-hour mark with neither side having a shot on target, but that changed four minutes later. First Spanish star Yeremy Pino forced Ramsdale into a save low down before then blocking Daniel Munoz's follow up attempt. Two minutes later, Pino's corner was headed over by Canvot in another threat from the home team. The opening also resulted in Ramsdale coming out and punching nothing but fresh air in a worrying moment.
But Newcastle grabbed the lead three minutes before half-time, as Jacob Murphy and Sandro Tonali combined well down the right to release Lewis Miley. The Stanley lad then clipped a low cross into the danger area with Osula adjusting his feet and flicking home past Henderson to open the scoring.
As the half neared a conclusion, Hall spun a free-kick at goal with Henderson gathering well low down to keep it at 1-0. And that's how it stayed as the sides went in at the break with United in control.
The Eagles appealed for a penalty two minutes after the interval when Botman blocked Jorgen Strand Larsen's effort, but Andy Madley waved away protests, and the VAR panel also agreed.
Osula was presented with another chance four minutes into the second half as he twisted and turned his way into the box past two Palace defenders, but England stopper Henderson made a save with his feet. With 28 minutes left, Pino was played in but curved over from just inside the box as a chance went begging for the Eagles.
Oliver Glasner turned to his bench just after the hour mark and introduced Jean-Philippe Mateta, England's Adam Wharton and Ismaïla Sarr. Hughes, Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson went off. It ended up being the moment that turned the game.
Mateta underlined his threat by forcing Thiaw into a foul, with the German defender booked for tugging his arm midway through the second half. The resultant free-kick saw Pino whip the free-kick in from the right with Lerma's header crashing off the crossbar.
Moments later, Livramento made his way over to the bench for instructions with set-piece coach Martin Mark and Graeme Jones having their say on a tweak. Joelinton was then booked for a foul on Mateta and subsequently earned a two-match ban.
Pino went off for Palace with Daichi Kamada replacing him for the last 15 minutes. Newcastle made a double change late on as Nick Woltemade and Jacob Ramsey were sent on for Osula and Joelinton.
Newcastle were handed five minutes of added time to either hold out for a point or win the game. They managed neither and handed Palace a gift-wrapped penalty. Having failed to deal with a long throw, Lerma was tugged back by Botman, and Madley pointed straight to the spot. Mateta rolled home the winner and Palace leapfrogged United in the table.
Newcastle won't be playing in Europe with sloppy displays like this.
Referee: Andy Madley (West Yorkshire)
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