Newcastle United drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park after a late equaliser from Daniel Munoz.
In a game of few chances for Eddie Howe’s side, they relied on a well-worked free kick in the second half to set up their goal, which was turned into the Palace net by Marc Guehi following Anthony Gordon’s flash across the six-yard box.
But deep into added time, Munoz scored a header to earn Palace a point as they battle to stay out of the relegation zone, with Newcastle now in 10th spot.
Here, Jacob Whitehead breaks down the key talking points from the game…
Isak out… but Wilson comes on late
Alexander Isak was not one of Newcastle’s major injury doubts entering the match but the striker’s fragility means he is always a slight concern, a luxury watch that needs fine-tuning. After initially going down after nine minutes, rubbing his hip, he was withdrawn for good 11 minutes later.
Callum Wilson made his first Premier League appearance of the season during Monday’s 2-0 home defeat to West Ham United — and the back-up striker was the presumed substitute here.
But with 70 minutes remaining, Howe instead shifted right-winger Anthony Gordon centrally, changing the style and system rather than turn to either of the specialist strikers on his bench in Wilson or William Osula.
The implication was that Wilson was not yet fully fit, and Osula not yet ready.
Wilson has been available for less than 50 per cent of Newcastle’s matches since the beginning of last season, while Osula was the club’s only outfield first-team signing. That neither was deemed a suitable replacement was a reflection of the squad-building position that they find themselves in after two poor transfer windows.
While Wilson did come on for the final 15 minutes, if Newcastle are pursuing Europe with a first-choice striker who has been historically susceptible to injuries, they need a better contingency plan.
Gordon celebrates the Newcastle goal (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Guehi goal gives Howe brief relief
Guehi created a Newcastle stalemate in the summer; he broke one on Saturday afternoon.
Having been the subject Newcastle bids this summer — with the club rejecting that there had been as many as four — he ran out at Selhurst Park still a Crystal Palace player. The Palace defence stymied Newcastle in the opening 45 minutes — it was just the second time in the last 10 years that Newcastle have failed to have a shot in the opening half.
But for Daniel Munoz’s inexplicable miss at the back post, they would have deservedly been behind.
As it was, Newcastle scored without a shot on target. From a wide free kick near the Palace box, Lewis Hall slid the ball to an unmarked Sandro Tonali, whose perfectly weighted pass found Gordon.
Gordon’s cross was low and hard and flashed across the face of goal — too quickly for Guehi to react. The ball bounced off the centre-back’s shin and rolled past Dean Henderson — giving Newcastle a boost that they thought had passed them by.
Munoz makes amends
Daniel Munoz had missed two huge chances. In the first half he somehow contrived to slide wide from six yards out. In the second, Dan Burn threw himself across to prevent him firing into an empty net.
In the 93rd minute, the right wing-back had his redemption, planting a downward header into the corner of the Newcastle goal — and it was the least his team deserved. The assist? Marc Guehi.
Burn gets to grips with Jean-Philippe Mateta (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Newcastle produced an expected goals tally (xG) of just 0.02 across the match, with just one shot in 90 minutes. Palace, in contrast, produced 16 shots — only denied by their own wastefulness, blocks from Burn and Schar, and two excellent Nick Pope saves.
Three points would have papered over the cracks; as well as the defence played, this was not a winning performance. Newcastle will have to hope Isak’s injury is not serious — despite pushing Bruno Guimaraes further forward, and virtually a fully fit attacking squad, they had the cutting edge of a rolling pin.
Last season, they were one of the entertainers with 85 goals, the fourth-most in the division. This year, they have managed just 14 so far — only five sides have fewer.
What did Eddie Howe say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Newcastle?
Wednesday, December 4: Liverpool (H), Premier League, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm ET
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(Top photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP)
