Talking points from Crystal Palace’s 5-0 humbling at Newcastle – Eagles collapse on the road again as they pay the penalty for missed spot kick
Crystal Palace were thrashed 5-0 by Newcastle United on Wednesday night.
Here are Adam Sells’ talking points from the heavy Premier League loss at St James’ Park.
ANOTHER COLLAPSE
It was a humbling evening for all concerned with Crystal Palace as they succumbed to a Newcastle United team on the crest of a wave.
After falling apart at Manchester City four days prior from a strong position – from leading 2-0 to being defeated 5-2 – the Eagles’ wings were clipped in spectacular fashion, as they conceded another five goals on the road.
It was quite a strange evening all round and certainly a difficult one to take for those that made the 600-mile round trip to the North East.
With train travel severely disrupted for many making the longest journey of the season on a Wednesday evening and the game on live television, their reward for a day of arduous travel was an absolute thumping. It was compounded at full-time with the PA system blasting out Glad All Over on the final whistle. Never have the Dave Clark Five ever sounded so bad.
Yet not unlike the City game last weekend, the visitors had their moments, recording an expected goals statistic of 2.02 versus the Toon’s 1.39.
The harsh reality is that it is what you do in both boxes. Conceding five goals, given the XG numbers, is a huge concern.
The tone was set early on when Dean Henderson was beaten by Jacob Murphy’s rasping strike from an acute angle. It was an incredible finish, but the goalkeeper should not have been beaten.
PAYING THE PENALTY
Perhaps the really critical moment in the game came in the 37th minute.
Newcastle keeper Nick Pope gave away a penalty as he came a long way to meet a cross and collided with Chris Richards. Referee Darren England awarded the spot-kick following a VAR intervention.
Surprisingly Eberechi Eze assumed responsibility for the penalty despite regular taker Jean-Philippe Mateta being on the field.
England international Eze tried to sit Pope down following a stuttered run up, but the keeper outfoxed him and easily fell on to the ball.
Pope had an immaculate night, stopping everything thrown at him.
His team-mates responded to his save by scoring three more times before half-time as they blitzed the Palace goal.
Marc Guehi was a target for Newcastle during the summer but Palace resisted all bids for him.
The central defender, whose performances have been largely impeccable all season, scored own goals in both league games against
Newcastle – former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is the only other player to do that against an opponent in the Premier League era.
Harvey Barnes lashed home a third and Fabian Schar a fourth, both in added time.
TOO MANY FOUND WANTING
Maxence Lacroix was caught out as goal number five arrived just before the hour, losing possession before Alexander Isak beat Henderson easily with an accomplished finish.
This perhaps best epitomised the last two games.
With an incredible away record prior to last weekend, it is easy to believe that the run that Palace enjoyed would mean there would be a real possibility of European football at Selhurst Park next season.
On a great run in the Premier League and with an FA Cup semi-final on the horizon, the season seemed to be coming to the boil at the perfect time.
That optimism has dissipated very quickly as too many have fallen short when facing the acid test.
Lacroix, Henderson, Chris Richards and Guehi have shown a high level of consistency throughout the campaign but the high standards they have set have not been evident against the level of opponents right at the top.
The likes of Adam Wharton, Eze and Mateta have not been at their best either.
Make no mistake, these two away games at clubs that have the financial clout of City and Newcastle mean that Palace have no right to expect to win, but the form going into them suggested that they would make a much better fist of it and not concede a morale-battering 10 goals.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
On the positive side, another game is around the corner with European chasers Bournemouth visiting SE25 tomorrow, followed by what now seems a really daunting trip to Arsenal on Wednesday.
Palace have conceded eight goals in their two previous games against Mikel Arteta’s men and another heavy defeat may further affect confidence.
The following weekend it is Wembley and Aston Villa. It seems the FA Cup may now have become a distraction for a team that was going so well.
Palace have fared very well against Villa this term in three meetings but there is subconsciously more ‘focus,’ it certainly will not sit well with boss Oliver Glasner if it is to be to the detriment of Premier League form.
Realistically, Palace are the lowest ranked of the semi-finalists, with Tottenham and champions in waiting Liverpool still to play on the road it is going to be a tough end to the campaign.
It is vital that they pick up their form quickly and put these two five-goal drubbings behind them pronto.
PICTURE: ALAMY
