Daniel Munoz scored a brilliant last-gasp header to lift Crystal Palace out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle.
The defender had seen two glorious chances to score his first Palace goal pass him by, first missing the target at the end of a wonderful first-half counter-attack and then being denied by a diving Dan Burn. But in the 94th minute, he rose at the back post to head in a fantastic equaliser.
It was captain Marc Guehi – the subject of repeated bids from Newcastle in the summer transfer window – who put in the cross, a reprieve for him after he had scored an own goal from Anthony Gordon’s cross earlier in the half.
The celebrations around Selhurst were wild, not least from Palace boss Oliver Glasner, who went dashing down the touchline to join his players. This felt like a win but it was a crucial point, allowing Palace to capitalise on Saturday afternoon defeats for Wolves and Ipswich.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had a look of disbelief on his face at the full-time whistle. He thought his side had bounced back from Monday’s home loss to West Ham but rather than closing in on the top four, the Magpies are stuck down in 10th.
Across the course of a game in which they had just one shot to Palace’s 16, they can have few complaints though. A hip injury to Alexander Isak, which forced the striker off in the first half, adds to their frustrations.
Glasner: Munoz should have had a hat-trick!
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“The result is not a good result when you see the performance. We deserved more today. When you score the equaliser in the 94th minute, you have to be happy with it and we are but the feeling is not it was a lucky point but we lost two points.
“When you invest and don’t get the reward it’s frustrating. This game today is like a mirror of our season. In every game we are competitive. We’re always fighting for the win but we didn’t. We have to blame ourselves. The performance level is increasing. If we continue playing like this we will get the points.”
On Munoz and his chances: “I said to him usually he should take the ball home after scoring a hat-trick! The first one he should score, he knows it. The second one was a great opportunity – credit to Burn. The most difficult one he scored at the end. It shows the character of all of us that they kept going.”
Howe: A devastating blow | Hopefully Isak will recover quickly
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe:
“A killer blow at the end. We defended really well for the majority of the game. Nick [Pope] has had a couple of saves to make. We stood up to that really well until the end and it’s a devastating blow for us.
“It was a strange performance from us with the ball. There was a lot of good in the first two thirds but nothing in the final third. Lots of set plays. We look a little low on confidence. Losing Alex was a huge blow to that. Lacking the cutting edge up front.”
On goal-scoring problems: “It’s a difficult one to answer. We haven’t changed our attacking philosophy in any way. It’s something we’re aware of and continue to work to improve. I’ve got no issue with the quality of players we have.
“Fully fit Premier League strikers will cost us an extortionate amount of money we don’t have. We have to back the players we have. Callum [Wilson] has had minimal training time. I didn’t feel bringing him on at that stage was something I could do.”
On Isak’s injury: “It was a contact injury, not a muscle pull which is good news for us. Hopefully he’ll recover quickly but at this moment I don’t know.”
Munoz goes from zero to hero
Daniel Munoz scores a late equaliser for Crystal Palace against Newcastle
How did Munoz fail to convert from close range at the end of that slick, sweeping counter-attack from Crystal Palace in the first half? He’s probably still asking himself the same question. He was agonisingly looking to the sky after Dan Burn somehow blocked his shot bound for an unguarded goal in the second half, too. But what a way to finally grab your first Palace goal.
The header was the toughest chance of the lot but it was excellently executed by the defender, rising high to squeeze the ball in at Nick Pope’s near post.
Munoz has rightly earned plaudits for his performances in a Palace shirt since joining the club in January but this was his most outstanding and important moment so far. Palace celebrated it like a win – and it could be a hugely valuable point, psychologically as much as anything, as they try to haul themselves out of this situation.
Newcastle missing spark to launch top-four challenge
Anthony Gordon’s cross is turned into the Crystal Palace net by Marc Guehi
Three wins for Newcastle before the international break suggested they were back on track for a good season – but since the Premier League has returned a shock defeat at home to struggling West Ham and this last-gasp draw at Palace has blunted their optimism.
Victory at Selhurst would have had them closing in on the top four places but instead they are back in mid-table. The table is tight but with Liverpool next up, Newcastle aren’t looking like a side ready to mount a charge for the Champions League spots.
They managed just one shot against relegation-threatened Palace and were fortunate not to concede more than that late, late equaliser. Isak’s injury adds to the problems for Howe, whose side are missing a spark right now.
