Crystal Palace 0-2 Newcastle: Sage's side create but cannot convert

Crystal Palace lost 0-2 to Newcastle United at Selhurst Park on 25 October 2026, a result that leaves Pierre Sage's side 14th in the Premier League and the manager facing renewed scrutiny. Will Osula scored the opener in the 47th minute from Jacob Murphy's cross, his first league goal of the season, and Harvey Barnes added a second just before the hour from Amar Dedić's cutback. Joe Willock had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR. Boos rang around Selhurst Park at full time.

The match itself was not a story of Newcastle dominance. Palace had 53 per cent possession, 17 shots to Newcastle's 10, and an expected goals figure of 1.69 against 0.98. They also had seven corners to Newcastle's four and two big chances apiece. Jean-Philippe Mateta was denied by goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček early on and shot wide from range; Daichi Kamada went down under a challenge from Fabian Schär with referee Paul Tierney unmoved.

The numbers from this match sit awkwardly alongside the result. Palace's 17 shots and 1.69 xG are healthy figures, but they scored zero. Their goals minus expected goals in this match was -1.69, against an average of 0.0 across their earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions. That is one match, not a trend, but it captures the central problem: the side is creating enough to suggest better results, yet the points return is not following.

That pattern is sharper when set against the wider season. Under Sage, Palace have 2W 1D 4L in the Premier League, 1.0 points per game over seven games. Under Roy Hodgson in 2022/2023, the side took 5W 3D 2L from 10 games, 1.8 points per game. But the direction of travel is clear enough to ask whether the balance of that earlier side can be rebuilt.

The turnover has been significant. Since the summer, Palace have brought in Quinten Timber, Honest Ahanor, Axel Disasi, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Evann Guessand and Jørgen Strand Larsen. They have lost David Ozoh, Daichi Kamada, Mofe Jemide, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi and David Obou.

One area where Palace did show something different against Newcastle was set plays. Their xG from set plays was 1.32, against an average of 0.46 across their earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions. Their seven corners here compared with an average of 3.8 across those earlier matches. Their 31 touches in the opposition box compared with an average of 20.8. These are single-match figures, but they suggest a side that is finding ways to get the ball into dangerous areas more often than it has managed previously this season.

The question is whether that volume can be converted before the manager's position is revisited. Steve Parish is understood not to have been fully convinced by Sage since his summer appointment to replace Oliver Glasner, and considered a change after 10 matches before deciding against it. But the pressure is real, and the fixture list offers little relief: Palace have Europa League commitments alongside their league campaign, and the 5-0 defeat at Brighton on 18 October, in which they conceded three times inside the opening 10 minutes, remains fresh.

The data from this Newcastle defeat says the chances were there. The table says the points were not. Until those two things align, the scrutiny will continue.