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Newcastle United player ratings v Crystal Palace: Trio score 9/10 as Sandro Tonali ‘unstoppable’ in 5-0 win
Dominic Scurr
5 – 6 minutes
Newcastle United 5-0 Crystal Palace player ratings: Here’s how Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Alexander Isak and co fared.
Jason Tindall named an unchanged line-up from the 4-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday. The Magpies went into the game knowing a result would take them up to third in the Premier League table while a win would take them five points inside the Champions League places with six games left to play.
After a positive start, Newcastle took the lead with an outrageous angled strike from Jacob Murphy.
Palace had a golden chance to equalise after a VAR overturn awarded a penalty to the away side following Nick Pope’s clash with Chris Richards. Eberichi Eze stepped up but was denied by Pope, who made amends for his initial foul.
Newcastle made matters worse for Palace minutes later by doubling their advantage. Harvey Barnes’ low cross was turned into his own net by Palace captain Marc Guehi.
Barnes then made it 3-0 himself with a fine finish into the bottom right corner before Fabian Schar made it 4-0 before half-time.
Alexander Isak eventually got in on the action before the hour mark with an excellent finish after Joelinton robbed Maxence Lacroix of the ball in a dangerous area.
The win sees Newcastle go up to third in the table, five points clear of Aston Villa ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash.
Here are the Newcastle United player ratings from the match…
Nick Pope – 8
Needlessly rushed off his line and conceded his second penalty in four games for clashing with Chris Richards. Made amends by saving the resulting penalty.
Kieran Trippier – 8
Set up Murphy for the opening goal and played a role in the fourth. Another solid display from the right back.
Fabian Schar – 8
Attempted an audacious shot from the halfway line but it was comfortably dealt with by Dean Henderson. Made a great block when needed before getting in on the action himself with a header to make it 4-0. Dealt with Jean-Philippe Mateta well.
Dan Burn – 8
Defended well when called upon and headed the ball clear well.
Tino Livramento – 7
Lively down the right and made a couple of good defensive blocks.
Sandro Tonali – 9
On the front foot and cut Palace out multiple times. Slipped in Barnes to make it 3-0. Continues to live up to his midfield maestro tag. Unstoppable.
Bruno Guimaraes – 7
Released Murphy to put a dangerous ball in for Alexander Isak. Got into a good position to slip Isak and Barnes through on goal but was unable to find either. Booked.
Joelinton – 7
Just missed Murphy’s low cross into the box. Caught on the ball in a dangerous area but won back possession high up to set up Isak. Taken off sensibly as he avoided a yellow card ban.
Jacob Murphy – 9
Put a teasing ball into the box early on, which just missed Alexander Isak and Joelinton. Put another ball in for Isak which was turned goalwards but saved by Dean Henderson. Put a third cross into the box inside the opening 10 minutes that Isak then headed over. Got into a dangerous crossing position once again minutes later but opted to go himself and ended up giving Newcastle the lead in emphatic fashion. Then grabbed an assist on the stroke of half-time with a cross headed in by Fabian Schar. Unplayable at the moment.
Harvey Barnes – 9
His low ball into the box was turned in by Marc Guehi to make it 2-0. Then made it four goals in three games with another fine finish on the stroke of half-time.
Alexander Isak – 7
Had two golden opportunities inside the opening 10 minutes. Saw one shot well saved by the Crystal Palace goalkeeper and headed another over. Was denied by Henderson again in the second half. Seemed to be having one of those evenings as he struggled to score when the goals were flowing but eventually got on the scoresheet with a classy finish with his sixth shot of the night.
Substitutes
Joe Willock – 6
On for Joelinton 62: Got up and down well to inject some energy into the closing stages of the game.
Anthony Gordon – 6
On for Murphy 62: Saw plenty of the ball after coming on but the game was just petering out at 5-0. Dinked an effort wide of the right post in stoppage time.
Callum Wilson – 6
On for Isak 72: Didn’t get much of a sniff in the closing stages.
Sean Longstaff – 6
On for Guimaraes 72: A steady midfield showing to see out the win.
Emil Krafth – n/a
On for Trippier 78: Made one good challenge down the right side but did lose the ball on one occasion.
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