EPL: Newcastle thrash Crystal Palace 5-0 to go third

Newcastle climbed to third in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace on Wednesday, edging closer to a return to the Champions League next season.

Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar, and Alexander Isak were on target for the Magpies, with Marc Guehi also scoring an own goal. Newcastle made light of manager Eddie Howe’s absence due to pneumonia.

This sixth consecutive victory in all competitions opened up a five-point lead for Newcastle over sixth-placed Chelsea. A place in the top five is enough for Champions League qualification.

Palace remain in 12th place, with their season now fully focused on an FA Cup semi-final clash with Aston Villa later this month.

Newcastle will travel to Villa on Saturday for a crucial match in the race for European places. However, the League Cup winners are pulling away from the chasing pack for a top-five finish, buoyed by ending their 70-year wait for domestic silverware last month.

“That gave us huge confidence,” said Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall, who was deputising for Howe. “We were able to enjoy that for a period of time, but we knew what our objectives were for the remainder of the season—to finish as high up the league table as possible.”

“The manager always leads and sets that example of never switching off. They’ve gone out there, been really consistent, and delivered performances.”

Isak wasted two early chances to open the scoring, first being denied by a fine save from Dean Henderson and then heading over from Murphy’s enticing cross.

Newcastle had to wait until the 14th minute to take the lead, when Murphy blasted in a remarkable finish from a narrow angle.

Eze Fluffs Penalty

Palace were gifted the chance to get back into the game when goalkeeper Nick Pope rushed off his line and wiped out Chris Richards in an attempt to punch the ball clear.

After a lengthy VAR check, a penalty was awarded. However, Eberechi Eze’s lacklustre spot-kick was easily collected by the relieved Pope.

Within a minute, Newcastle doubled their lead when Guehi turned the ball into his own net while trying to block Barnes’ cross towards Isak.

The England defender has been regularly linked with a move to Tyneside and has now scored an own goal in both of Palace’s meetings with Newcastle this season.

“There are some days where nothing works, and at the same time, everything worked for Newcastle,” said Palace boss Oliver Glasner. “We couldn’t deal with their intensity, directness, and pace.”

It went from bad to worse for the visitors as Barnes continued his fine form with a composed finish for his fourth goal in three games.

Murphy’s free-kick was then flicked in by Schar to make it 4-0 before the break.

The normally lethal Isak continued to be frustrated in front of goal as Henderson spread himself to deny another point-blank effort early in the second half.

However, the Swedish striker finally got his 25th goal of the season with a fine finish from outside the area just before the hour mark.

AFP