Oliver Glasner hails Newcastle United tactic that Crystal Palace ‘couldn’t deal with’

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Crystal Palace were humiliated at St James’ Park, losing 5-0 to Newcastle United.

It is the Magpies’ biggest win of the season, but for Crystal Palace, it was the second time they had conceded five goals during a game in four days.

Newcastle United dominated Palace on Wednesday night, with the likes of Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes ruthless in attack. Alexander Isak also found the net for Newcastle after failing to score in his previous two games.

There was no goal for Sandro Tonali against Palace, but he still bagged a wonderful assist for the Magpies’ third of the evening.

Nick Pope was Newcastle’s hero after he saved a penalty while the game was only 1-0. That moment gave the crowd something to feed off of, and the players capitalised with some aplomb.

The win moves Newcastle up to third in the Premier League, just four points off Arsenal in second place.

After an embarrassing few days, Palace boss Oliver Glasner reflected on the defeat and made an honest admission about Jason Tindall’s set-up for the game.

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Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner praises Newcastle United

Tindall is covering for Eddie Howe while the 47-year-old recovers from a recent pneumonia diagnosis. But the Newcastle assistant manager has done an exceptional job since taking the reins, scoring nine goals in two games.

Newcastle are hunting for Champions League football and have found a fantastic vein of form at the right time in order to get the job done.

The team is oozing with confidence at the moment. Everything seems to be coming off for them in attack and defence.

However, Glasner was quick to point out one particular area of Newcastle’s game after Palace’s defeat.

“I think Newcastle were excellent and have showed this in the last few weeks,” Glasner told BBC Match of the Day.

“We couldn’t deal with their intensity and directness and pace. When we had the situation to get into the game it didn’t work. There are some days where nothing works, and at the same time everything worked for Newcastle.

“Sometimes it’s better to not be too analytical and you have to just throw it in the bin. This is what we’ll do today.

“We can analyse all the goals, but if you make mistakes on top it’s difficult in a game against Newcastle, especially when their shape is so good.

“Sometimes you don’t have the right answer. We’ve changed nothing but things aren’t working anymore. We have to be very honest. We’re Crystal Palace and if we don’t perform at our top level, Newcastle and Manchester City are better than us.”

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Newcastle United boost Champions League qualification hopes

If you were to tell a Newcastle fan at the beginning of the season that they would be third with six games to go, they’d laugh at you. The beginning of the campaign was anything but positive for the Magpies. Results were not looking promising, and they found themselves 12th in December.

Now, Newcastle are just a few games away from securing Champions League football after just missing out on Europe last season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	32	23	7	2	74	31	43	76
2	ArsenalArsenal	32	17	12	3	57	27	30	63
3	NewcastleNewcastle	32	18	5	9	61	40	21	59
4	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	32	17	6	9	51	38	13	57
5	Man CityManchester City	32	16	7	9	62	42	20	55

The win on Wednesday night meant their game in hand was not played in vain. They are now five points clear of Chelsea in fifth and eye second in the Premier League.

Champions League football will help Newcastle in the transfer window after nearly two years without a meaningful signing for the first team as well.

With six games to go, everything is looking up for the Magpies.