Callum Wilson completes rout as Newcastle put four past Crystal Palace
There were moments when Roy Hodgson simply shook his head and others when he glanced somewhat wistfully at the electronic clock on the stadium scoreboard.
As his Crystal Palace players looked in increasing peril of being completely submerged by the relentless waves of irrepressible, defence-shredding Newcastle attacks, Hodgson must have longed to fast-forward the agonising minutes remaining until the final whistle.
Only four minutes had passed when Fabian Schär’s lofted ball out of defence was met by Kieran Trippier and passed on, sublimely, to Jacob Murphy. Within a millisecond Sam Johnstone was beaten by Murphy’s audacious lob but before anyone had time to debate whether it was a moment of genius or a bit of a fluke, it was disallowed for a perceived offside against Trippier. The England full-back shook his head in puzzlement and, sure enough, the decision was overturned after a VAR review, leaving Murphy free to celebrate.
With Newcastle firmly in control and the outstanding Trippier setting formidably high standards the ground echoed with choruses of “Sandro Tonali” as the Italy midfielder, almost certain to soon receive a lengthy suspension for breaches of betting regulations in his home country, stepped off the bench to warm up.
Given that Tonali’s agent has said his client has a “gambling addiction” it jarred somewhat when both the electronic pitchside hoardings and the stadium’s big screen projected vivid, flashing advertisements for one of the three betting companies that rank among Newcastle’s sponsors.
By then Newcastle could easily have been further ahead but Johnstone saved well to deny the impressive Murphy before performing a minor miracle to somehow push Anthony Gordon’s high-velocity volley on to the woodwork.
Undeterred, Gordon soon scored, lashing home first time at the far post after surging into the box and meeting Murphy’s fine cross at the end of a typically stellar move featuring Schär and the hitherto-quiet Callum Wilson.
Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager, had a third goal to celebrate before half-time. Palace’s stumbling centre half Marc Guéhi made heavy weather of dealing with a long ball, permitting the onrushing Sean Longstaff to seize possession before punishing Johnstone.
Along with Gordon, Bruno Guimarães, Murphy and Trippier, Longstaff was one of Newcastle’s best performers in the sort of brutally efficient display capable of making Hodgson question the wisdom of emerging from retirement. It may have also alarmed the watching Borussia Dortmund scouts ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League engagement here.
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With Jamaal Lascelles winning an often physical duel with Jean-Philippe Mateta, Schär was frequently free to advance from defence and remind everyone what an accomplished all-round footballer he is. If Sven Botman’s enduring absence with a knee injury remains a concern to Howe, it has been mitigated by the return of an almost reinvented Lascelles.
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Perhaps inspired by the sight of Alexander Isak and Miguel Almirón waiting to come on as substitutes, Wilson added a fourth goal from a counterattack in the 66th minute. Literally seconds after Nick Pope had been forced to dive low to deny Cheick Doucouré as Palace finally mustered their first shot on target, Murphy’s stellar through pass left the rapidly accelerating Wilson to complete the task of placing the ball beyond Johnstone’s reach.
It proved the cue for a quadruple home substitution, with Tonali receiving a rapturous reception as he replaced Guimarães. Howe’s thoughts doubtless turned to Dortmund.