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Heading into the final 20 minutes of action at St James’ Park, it looked like Newcastle United and Crystal Palace were destined to end up in a dismal 0-0 stalemate in the match Premier League.
However, as has often been the case this season, Bruno Guimaraes once again delivered the goods for the Toons when his team desperately needed a hero, with the talismanic Brazilian in the right place at the right time to open the scoring.
Malick Thiaw then made sure of all three points by winning the decider from a late corner, as Guimaraes and the Düsseldorf-born defender continue to enjoy exceptional seasons on Tyneside.
But it wasn’t all rosy for the hosts in the relatively straightforward 2-0 win as some members of Howe’s first team also struggled to get going against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles.
Newcastle’s best and worst players against Palace
It would be a mistake not to also mention Lewis Miley’s outstanding performance against Palace, before delving deeper into those who underperformed, with the teenage sensation rightly hailed as one of Howe’s best players. “best performers” currently by journalist Martin Hardy, who completes 100% of his passes at St James’ Park.
One such pass would allow Guimaraes to break the deadlock, and with nine duels also won, the 19-year-old will now want to carve out a starting place in Howe’s main team, from a makeshift right-back position.
Yoane Wissa won’t be feeling as confident about his chances of remaining in the starting XI, however, with the former Brentford striker a quiet presence throughout, mustering just one shot all afternoon, from a paltry 13 touches of the ball.
Additionally, Sandro Tonali’s notable decline in standards continued against Palace, with the Italian losing possession on 13 occasions.
He also failed to be as energetic as a revitalized Joelinton in the middle of the park, who himself won eight valiant duels. In contrast, Tonali only won four of her 12 duel attempts.
Podcast host Taylor Payne is even reportedly taking to social media to denounce Tonali. “negligent” approach on the ball, as a usual starter under Howe seems to be increasingly shaky when it comes to his concrete point.
He is, however, not the only St James’ Park prop to become more fearful ahead of the match due to his long-term position in the starting ranks.
5/10 Newcastle star must be dropped
It’s been a sad regression for Tonali into the first team over the last two matches, with his usual desire to bravely win tackles and pass the ball effortlessly neither against Manchester United or Burnley.
In the same way, Jacob Murphy hasn’t quite been at his best for a while now, after being “the shape of his life” earlier in the season, in the words of Newcastle-based blog Mouth of the Tyne.
In hindsight, it was mild hyperbole, but early in the campaign Murphy was a regular in the goals, with two goals and three assists during the early stages of the season.
Recently, however, the 30-year-old has failed to live up to the rest of his teammates, as the Newcastle veteran’s goalless streak in the team has now reached 12 consecutive clashes, following another unforgettable performance on Sunday.
|
Murphy’s performance by the numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
88 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Aids |
0 |
|
Keys |
55 |
|
Gunshots |
1 |
|
Offside |
2 |
|
Precise passes |
21/31 (68%) |
|
Precise crossings |
3/9 |
|
Successful dribbles |
1/3 |
|
Lost possession |
20x |
|
Total duels won |
1/5 |
|
Statistics by Couch Score |
|
What is worrying is that Murphy struggled at the end of the 2-0 success with more offside calls against him than shots registered in the opposition goal.
To further add insult to injury, the 5ft 10in forward also gave away possession 20 times, completed just one dribble and won just one duel on five attempts, with Howe putting him out of his misery quite late in the contest when Joe Willock was given a run-out.
Unsurprisingly, Murphy was the victim of a decline Post-match rating of 5/10 from Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin, who simply said the aging striker was “not at the races” for the majority of the game.
Against Leeds, Howe could test Anthony Elanga again on the right, in place of the former Norwich City striker, with Murphy one of the few low points in Newcastle’s second successive Premier League victory.
