Newcastle United’s attacking woes continued in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, a result that highlighted the team’s ongoing struggles in the final third. Despite going ahead early due to an own goal from Marc Guehi, Eddie Howe’s side failed to capitalize on their advantage, managing just a single shot in the entire match. Crystal Palace salvaged a point with an injury-time header from Daniel Munoz.
While Newcastle were solid defensively and enjoyed more possession, their lack of creativity going forward was evident. Joelinton, who had shown promise on the wing before the international break, had a particularly disappointing performance. He lost possession 21 times, failed to win any of his 10 ground duels, and couldn’t complete a single one of his six dribble attempts.
BBC pundit Danny Murphy called out Joelinton for a “lazy” decision in the match. He pointed to a moment when Joelinton ignored a simple opportunity to cross and instead sent a poor, looping ball out of play. Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, Murphy emphasized that decision-making in the final third is just as important as technical skill. He suggested that Joelinton’s hesitation and lack of urgency in that situation reflected a broader issue with Newcastle’s attacking play, which has been lacking in dynamism and creativity this season.
