St. James’ Park roared on Wednesday night as Newcastle United delivered a commanding 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace, catapulting the Magpies into third place in the Premier League and strengthening their case for a return to the Champions League.
Goals from Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar, and Alexander Isak—alongside a Marc Guehi own goal—propelled the hosts to their sixth consecutive win in all competitions. The result puts Newcastle five points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea, with a top-five finish enough to secure Champions League qualification this season.
The emphatic win came in the absence of manager Eddie Howe, who was sidelined with pneumonia. Assistant manager Jason Tindall stepped in and praised the team’s consistency and focus after their League Cup triumph last month.
“That gave us huge confidence,” said Tindall. “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 delivering performances.”
Newcastle opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Murphy blasted home a spectacular strike from a narrow angle. Isak had missed two earlier chances, denied first by Dean Henderson and then heading over from Murphy’s cross, but the floodgates soon opened.
Palace had a golden opportunity to equalize after Nick Pope clattered into Chris Richards inside the box, leading to a penalty after a lengthy VAR check. But Eberechi Eze’s tame spot-kick was comfortably saved by a grateful Pope.
Within a minute, the hosts doubled their lead when Marc Guehi—who had already scored an own goal against Newcastle earlier this season—deflected Barnes’ cross into his own net.
“There are some days where nothing works, and at the same time everything worked for Newcastle,” admitted Palace boss Oliver Glasner.
“We couldn’t deal with their intensity and directness and pace.”
The goals kept coming. Barnes netted his fourth goal in three games with a composed finish, before Schar flicked in Murphy’s free-kick to make it 4-0 before the break.
Isak, despite his early frustrations in front of goal, eventually found the net with a superb strike from outside the box just before the hour mark—his 25th goal of the season.
Palace, who now sit 12th in the table, will shift focus to their FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa later this month. Meanwhile, Newcastle continue their charge up the table with growing confidence and momentum.
They face Aston Villa again this Saturday in a crucial clash in the race for European places, as the League Cup winners look to cap off a season that could see them return to the Champions League for the second time in as many years.
