Newcastle strikes twice in two minutes to sink Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park

One minute after the restart, Selhurst Park was still settling back into its seats when William Osula had already put Newcastle up 1-0. That's how fast the second half unraveled for Crystal Palace, who ended up falling 2-0 to Newcastle United in a Premier League match in which they controlled the ball but couldn't find a way to turn that into goals.

The first half had been even, with the home side actually getting the better chances: Jean-Philippe Mateta tested the keeper twice from close range in the opening minutes, and Axel Disasi also had a look of his own, but it all ended in blocked or saved shots. Newcastle, for its part, barely threatened, with one attempt from Osula and another from Harvey Barnes before the break. With the score level at 0-0 at halftime, the match looked wide open.

Two minutes that changed everything

The second half had barely gotten underway when, in the 46th minute, Osula finished left-footed from close range off a cross from Jacob Murphy to make it 1-0. The blow could have been even worse for the home side: five minutes later, Joe Willock put the ball in the net, but VAR overturned the goal after review, leaving the score at 1-0. The reprieve didn't last long. In the 57th minute, Harvey Barnes struck with his right foot from the center of the box, assisted by Amar Dedic, to make it 2-0, a scoreline that would hold up as final.

Crystal Palace tried to respond late on, bringing on Eddie Nketiah and Dario Osorio to freshen up the attack, with several shots from Osorio and Yeremy Pino failing to find the target. There were even six minutes of stoppage time to search for a way back into it, but Newcastle held firm without any real scares.

What the numbers say

Crystal Palace was the more insistent side in terms of overall play: more possession, more shots, more corners. But the efficiency belonged to the visitors, who made good on two of their few clear chances.

The estimated post-match xG, calculated from shot locations, also favors Crystal Palace: 2.206 against Newcastle's 1.286. In other words, the home side created more danger in terms of chance quality, but it was the visiting team that made it count.

Before the match, the projection published in the preview gave Crystal Palace a 40% chance of winning, a 26% chance of a draw, and 34% for a Newcastle win, with expected goals of 1.64 for the home side and 1.5 for the visitors. The final result went down the least likely of the three paths: not a draw, not a home win, but a clear Newcastle victory that arrived with a two-goal margin, beyond what those numbers had anticipated.

What the result leaves behind

In the standings, both teams arrived having played eight matches with a gap of 4 points between them. Newcastle took all three points and remains in the middle of the table, while Crystal Palace, which already carried a significant negative goal difference so far this season, once again came away empty-handed despite being the team that created more throughout the 90 minutes. The story of the match was summed up in those two minutes of the second half in which Newcastle struck twice and left no room for a response.