Newcastle United surged into third place in the Premier League with a dominant 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace, boosting their hopes of a Champions League return next season.
Goals from Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schär, and Alexander Isak, along with a Marc Guehi own goal, sealed a sixth consecutive win in all competitions for the Magpies, who showed no signs of missing manager Eddie Howe, absent due to pneumonia.
The emphatic win gives Newcastle a five-point cushion over sixth-placed Chelsea, with a top-five finish likely enough to secure Champions League qualification under UEFA’s new format.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, stay 12th and are now fully focused on their upcoming FA Cup semi-final clash with Aston Villa.
Newcastle face Villa this Saturday in a crucial showdown in the race for Europe, but Eddie Howe’s side are beginning to pull away from the chasing pack, buoyed by the momentum of last month’s League Cup triumph — their first domestic silverware in 70 years.
Despite an early flurry of missed chances from Isak — including a header over the bar and a one-on-one saved by Dean Henderson — it didn’t take long for the hosts to find the breakthrough. Murphy opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle.
Palace were handed a lifeline when Nick Pope clattered into Chris Richards while attempting to punch clear, resulting in a penalty after a lengthy VAR review. But Eberechi Eze’s tame effort was easily saved by a relieved Pope.
Moments later, Newcastle doubled their lead as Guehi inadvertently turned Barnes’ low cross into his own net — his second own goal in as many meetings with Newcastle this season.
Barnes continued his purple patch with a calm finish to make it 3-0, taking his tally to four goals in his last three games. Schär then added a fourth before half-time, glancing in a Murphy free-kick.
Isak, who had endured a frustrating afternoon despite his team’s dominance, finally got his reward just before the hour mark. The Swedish striker curled in a sublime strike from outside the box for his 25th goal of the season, capping off a near-perfect performance from the hosts.
