Bruno Guimarães’ new role further exposes Newcastle’s ‘bizarre’ problem

Crystal Palace – Newcastle United 1-1 (Muñoz 90+4 | Guehi 53′ and)

SELKHURST PARK – It was an almost ugly win, but we were 1-0 up after zero shots on target in the second half into stoppage time. Newcastle succumbed to what did not seem inevitable.

Crystal Palace huffed and puffed and it looked as if the woes of the league’s most underperforming team would continue, only for Daniel Munoz to arrive late and deliver a header that made up for his earlier miss.

It was an unfortunate blow for Newcastle, who were in the lead thanks to an own goal from Marc Guei and six days away from home. defeat to West Hamthis exposed problems Eddie Howe will somehow be looking for a solution before they host Liverpool on Wednesday, namely their creativity problems and where their captain should actually play.

“It’s a strange performance from us,” Howe said. “There’s nothing in the final third. There are a lot of standard games, opportunities to do something, but we feel like we have little confidence. We didn’t have a recognized striker (after losing Isak), we just lacked the edge.”

Asked why scoring had become an issue, he added: “It’s hard to answer, but we haven’t changed our attacking philosophy. It’s difficult to give a clear and direct answer, but we know it. I have no problem with the quality of players we have.”

It wasn’t a thrilling affair, although perhaps that’s not surprising given it was a match between two of the league’s lowest-scoring clubs.

The first half was a frustrating one, with Newcastle’s strikes mostly disrupting a game that struggled to come to fruition.

Early on, Bruno Guimarães was gesticulating and talking to Alexander Isak, urging his striker to move more, while Anthony Gordon, starting on the right, could have released Tino Livramento but didn’t see a pass that looked obvious from the stands (easy for us to say etc). d.).

As soon as Isak went down for the second time it seemed game over for the Swede and so by the third time he was lying on the turf – just moments after Joelinton had risen – it led to Eddie Howe being forced into substitution.

Harvey Barnes came on for Isak in the 22nd minute, moving Gordon into the center of the striker, and at first it looked like Barnes would enjoy spending time finding space between Tyreek Mitchell and Marc Guei.

Just two minutes after coming on, Barnes left Mitchell behind before blasting a low cross past everyone, but that promising start from the Newcastle striker with a point to prove was followed by a bright spell for Palace as Nick Pope Sarra saved superbly from Ismaila before Muñoz missed the target when it looked easier to score.

Munoz is yet to score for Palace and it showed the right-back was the last player the hosts expected and wanted to see at the left post, trying to get a left-footed shot in just as Sarr’s perfectly weighted low cross rolled in temptingly. on his way.

The foundation of Palace’s purple patch may have been the winning battle between Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma in midfield. The hard-working pair taught Newcastle’s midfielders a thing or two – Lerma in particular stuck to Guimaraes like glue and broke up numerous attacks.

Guimaraes played as number eight in the league for the first time this season, moving up from sixth place following the retirement of Sandro Tonali. The pair started together for the first time in five matches and, judging by the results of the first half, it was more of an experiment still in its infancy when, given the end of November, Newcastle fans were rather hoping that the time would come for such trials to end.

All the while, Joe Willock was a relative passenger in the first half and showed glimpses of his best performances. earlier this monththere was a requirement – if Newcastle were to have any hope of continually harassing Palace – that he improve his performance along with his midfield mates.

As evidence of Newcastle’s lack of creativity, the half ended with just one shot blocked despite them having more possession and, with Barnes already on the pitch, it was unclear what move Howe would make next.

At least the 10-year-old Newcastle fan, who as a whole Geordie named Joelinton as his favorite player, buried his penalty at half-time, while just yards away Callum Wilson remained warm, perhaps suffering from that Barnes was replaced by him.

The team put in more effort after the break and although Willock and Joelinton swapped places on the left at times, it was on the right that Newcastle found joy.

It was here too that they found a breakthrough, albeit from a set-piece, masterfully played when Lewis Hall played it back to Tonali, who then passed to Gordon – his cross ricocheted off Marc Guei and scored an own goal from the player who almost moved to Newcastle in the summer.

That the routine in training paid off was a blessing for a Newcastle side who had otherwise struggled to get ahead, with a solitary goal seeing them sit back rather than look for a second.

There were also signs that Guimarães’ personal frustrations were running high, with a needless foul before the hour mark putting his side under pressure and then another outstretched hand in apology when a pass intended for Willock fell wide.

Soon afterwards Pope was again on hand to deny Sarr before Dan Byrne brilliantly blocked Muñoz’s effort on goal and as another decent Palace spell raised the noise level around Selhurst Park, Byrne could be seen calling for calm before he headed to the corner. .

Willock’s yellow card for a reckless foul on Hughes was another sign that the tide was turning, with Lerma then watching his effort from range deflected wide.

Guehi then headed home from a corner in the 70th minute for what turned out to be Palace’s 10th shot of the match, and after Sarr saw them make their 11th save and Mateta converted their 12th, there was further evidence of that That’s the story of the Eagles’ season so that’s what really dictated this game.

In the build-up to the match, Palace boasted the worst goals-per-shot ratio in the Premier League at 0.05, a figure that got worse with every shot that failed to find the back of the net, but just when it looked like Newcastle It seemed like he was thanking his lucky stars, luck had finally turned for Palace – and Munoz – with their 15th shot of the match.

His header broke Newcastle hearts, making Howe’s long journey back even more awkward.

He will have to wonder where that creative spark will come from, and whether the trio of Tonali, Willock and Guimarães will work – in truth, it hasn’t worked, nor has Joelinton on the left – and against Liverpool it may not work. recover much better. They will need St James’ Park at their best to trouble the league leaders in midweek, and where Guimaraes starts is anyone’s guess.