Crystal Palace’s difficult spell continued as Newcastle won 2-0 at Selhurst Park, increasing the pressure on head coach Pierre Sage after last weekend’s 5-0 defeat to Brighton.
The first half offered little from either side, but Palace returned from the interval poorly and were behind within a minute. Jacob Murphy’s dangerous cross found Will Osula, who finished at the near post to give Newcastle the lead.
Newcastle appeared to have doubled their advantage soon afterwards when Joe Willock converted Joelinton’s pass, but the goal was ruled out for a tight offside decision. Palace were unable to make the most of that reprieve, and Harvey Barnes made it 2-0 in the 58th minute with a powerful finish from inside the penalty area.
Palace struggled to produce a response. Dario Osorio’s curling effort from distance was their clearest opportunity in the second half, forcing Lukas Hornicek into his first save in more than an hour. Earlier, Jean-Philippe Mateta had also been unable to make clean contact with an Adam Wharton free-kick after a scramble inside the Newcastle box.
The result prompted murmurs of discontent around Selhurst Park, while a video review of a potential red card for Jeremy Pino ended without further punishment. Newcastle moved up to seventh in the Premier League after claiming their first win in three matches and recording their first clean sheet since August.
