Newcastle United start 2026 with an important win over Crystal Palace, but Eddie Howe thinks one thing that happened at St. James’ Park almost hurt his team.
That is now back-to-back wins for Newcastle and the Magpies have picked up where they left off against Burnley at the end of last year. It wasn’t an especially pretty performance against Palace but Eddie Howe’s men certainly deserved the win.
Goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Malick Thiaw secured the three points on the day at St. James’ Park. We also saw another special performance from Lewis Miley and more promising signs from Yoane Wissa.
However, Howe did feel some tension around the ground, and he clearly sounds relieved that his team made it out with the win.
St. James’ Park nerves affected Newcastle United
Speaking to the press after the final whistle, the Newcastle United manager highlighted the fact his team scraped through at times against a tricky Palace team, and suggested the atmosphere at St. James’ Park didn’t help matters.
He said: “It was a tough game and always is against Palace. We knew today was going to be tough and we had to be patient. It was a little bit bitty at times and the substitutes did really well, they helped us over the line.
“The disallowed goals were two good moves. We needed the first goal, there were nerves in the stadium. The players had to deal with that. We were better as the game went on. I always thought it’d improve but we need to build momentum and confidence and today was a big step.
Fans have made no secret of the fact they’ve been disappointed with recent performances from the Magpies, and they must have been thinking it wouldn’t be their day with the game still goalless by the 70-minute mark. But, thankfully, the tide turned in Newcastle’s favour.
Newcastle dominated Crystal Palace
To be honest, the three points are just reward for a much improved Newcastle display. It wasn’t perfect, but the Magpies were definitely the better team on the day.
As per Sofascore, Newcastle had the lion’s share of possession with 59% to Palace’s 41% and they absolutely outmatched the Eagles in terms of xG, with 1.88 compared to the 0.70 registered by Oliver Glasner’s side.
Newcastle also had five big chances (Palace had two), 12 shots to 11 for Palace, and completed way more passes with 487 to Palace’s 346.
There were clear positive signs for Howe to take away from the game, too. Bruno Guimaraes and Yoane Wissa linked up really well, for a start, and a number of players scored highly in our Newcastle United player ratings from the game. It was a gritty, determined display, and we can all take heart in that.