With a 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Newcastle advanced to third in the Premier League and is now inching closer to a return to the Champions League for the upcoming season.
Newcastle capitalised on the absence of manager Eddie Howe, who was afflicted with pneumonia, by netting goals through Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar, and Alexander Isak. Marc Guehi also scored an own goal.
Newcastle has established a five-point advantage over sixth-placed Chelsea following their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions. A berth in the top five is sufficient for Champions League qualification.
Palace’s season is now entirely focussed on an FA Cup semi-final match against Aston Villa later this month, as they remain in 12th place.
On Saturday, Newcastle will engage in a significant match against Villa in the ongoing competition for European berths.
However, the League Cup champions are edging out the chasing pack in pursuit of a top-five finish, following their 70-year quest for domestic silverware last month.
“That instilled in us an immense amount of confidence,” stated Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall, who was serving as Howe’s replacement, regarding the League Cup victory.
“We were able to relish that for a while, but we were aware of our goals for the remainder of the season: to achieve the highest possible position in the league table.”
“The manager consistently leads and demonstrates the importance of never turning off.” They have been consistently present and have delivered exceptional performances.
Isak missed two significant early opportunities to score when he was initially denied by a fine Dean Henderson save and then headed over from Murphy’s tantalising cross.
Murphy scored Newcastle’s first goal in the 14th minute with a remarkable finish from a restricted angle.
The opportunity to regain control of the game was presented to Palace when custodian Nick Pope raced off his line and collided with Chris Richards while attempting to clear the ball.
Ultimately, a penalty was decided upon following an extensive VAR investigation.
Nevertheless, the relieved Pope effortlessly collected Eberechi Eze’s indifferent spot-kick.
Newcastle had doubled their advantage within a minute when Guehi turned into his own net while attempting to block Barnes’ cross towards Isak.
The England defender has been frequently associated with a transfer to Tyneside and has now scored an own goal in each of Palace’s two encounters with Newcastle this season.
Oliver Glasner, the manager of Palace, stated, “There are days when nothing works, and at the same time, everything worked for Newcastle.”
“We were unable to manage their pace, directness, and intensity.”
The visitors’ situation deteriorated further as Barnes maintained his exceptional performance by scoring his fourth goal in three games with a composed finish.
Schar then turned in Murphy’s free kick to make it 4-0 before the break.
Henderson extended himself to prevent another attempt from point-blank range early in the second half, causing the typically lethal Isak to remain thwarted in front of goal.
Nevertheless, the Swedish striker scored his 25th goal of the season with a spectacular finish from outside the area just before the hour mark.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Pope, Trippier (Krafth 79), Schar, Burn, Livramento, Joelinton (Willock 62), sndro Tonali, Bruno (Longstaff 72), Barnes, Alexander Isak (Wilson 72), Jacob Murphy (Anthony Gordon 62)
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