Newcastle United clinched their fourth victory in five Premier League (PL) matches, displaying a stark contrast to the previous three head-to-head meetings with Crystal Palace, all of which ended goalless.
Right from the start, the Magpies exhibited clear intent and were quickly rewarded with an early goal within the first four minutes. Kieran Trippier’s first-time pass to Jacob Murphy, who marked his first start in four with an audacious finish, looped over Sam Johnstone and found the bottom corner. This made Trippier the only Newcastle player to assist in four consecutive PL games. Despite Jean-Philippe Mateta heading wide from Will Hughes’ corner in an attempt to respond, Palace spent much of the initial quarter-hour trying to find respite from the relentless attacks of the hosts.
Murphy and Trippier continued to cause problems down the right, delivering searching crosses, with Anthony Gordon hitting the crossbar and Callum Wilson narrowly missing a header. The deserved second goal for the Magpies arrived in the 44th minute, as Murphy provided another excellent cross for Gordon, who clinically finished first-time to beat Johnstone. Adding to Palace’s woes before halftime, Longstaff capitalized on a slip from Marc Guéhi, securing his second goal in four league matches.
Palace showed some promise after the restart with Will Hughes creating a chance for Odsonne Édouard, but the Frenchman’s attempt was blocked by Schär. Despite a more assured defensive performance from the Eagles, they were breached again in the 66th minute. Murphy played a key role, threading the ball through to Wilson, who calmly finished, maintaining his record of scoring in all three of his starts this season.
Nick Pope ensured a clean sheet with a superb save to tip Édouard’s free-kick over the crossbar. Newcastle extended their unbeaten streak to eight consecutive games in all competitions, simultaneously becoming the top scorers in the PL. This achievement came at the expense of dismantling a Palace side that had not conceded in their previous three league games.