Premier League: Murphy magic as Newcastle thrashes hapless Palace

Newcastle coasted to a comfortable win that left it fifth in the standings on 16 points, five behind leader Manchester City and four ahead of Palace in 11th.

Newcastle United’s Jacob Murphy celebrates scoring their first goal. | Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters

Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy scored his side’s first goal and made two more as it secured a sizzling 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at St James’ Park on Saturday to move up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Murphy teamed up with full-back Kieran Trippier to torment Palace during a brilliant first-half display in which it scored three goals and wasted almost as many gilt-edged chances as they dominated their visitors.

The 28-year-old Murphy set Newcastle on its way in the fourth minute as he met Trippier’s cushioned first-time pass with a brilliant volley that flew over Palace keeper Sam Johnstone and into the net.

The home side wasted a number of decent chances before Murphy teed up Anthony Gordon, who had previously hit the crossbar, to double the lead with a sumptuous first-time finish in the 44th minute.

Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff added another in stoppage time to send his team in 3-0 up after 45 minutes of complete domination in which Palace failed to register a shot on target. It finally troubled home keeper Nick Pope in the 66th minute but he was equal to the task, and less than a minute later Callum Wilson got Newcastle’s fourth, making the most of a brilliant ball bent in by Murphy and guiding it past Johnstone to round off the scoring.

Pope pulled off a brilliant save in the 85th minute to keep out Odsonne Edouard’s free kick and keep his clean sheet intact as Newcastle coasted to a comfortable win that left it fifth in the standings on 16 points, five behind leader Manchester City and four ahead of Palace in 11th.

“He (Murphy) is a big player, he was a huge player for us last season, picked up a couple of injuries pre-season but a huge contribution today when we needed it,” Newcastle coach Eddie Howe told the  BBC.

“He’s a very reliable player, he’s a great professional, he’s a massive part of our squad,” Howe added.

Palace full-back Joel Ward was blunt in his assessment of how his team had performed.

“We were outclassed today, it is about how we bounce back from that. In tough times it is about how you respond,” he said. “As individuals and as a team, we look at ourselves in the mirror, we know we can do better.”