NUFC player ratings vs Palace – One 8, two 7.5s, a few 7s, a 6.5, several 6s and one sluggish 5

Plenty of possession but a lack of quality in the final third cost Newcastle last night, seeing us come away with a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

All in all, a decent point away from home which sees us continue our march towards the top four spots – although some will see it as two points dropped on the balance of play.

Here come the ratings:

Nick Pope – 7.5 – Made a superb save to deny Palace in the second half, showing superb reflex to tip Mateta’s striker over the bar. Apart from that he didn’t have much to do, but his huge stop was the difference between a point and defeat as he went on to keep this 12th clean sheet.

Kieran Trippier – 7.5 – Set piece delivery was superb however nobody got on the end of them all night. Defensively solid and kept Zaha quiet all evening. One slip saw him go into the book for a tug back on the Palace winger.

Fabian Schar – 8* – Superb defensively, limiting Palace to very chances in front of goal and snuffing out attacks effortlessly. Looked so calm and composed in everything he did, also showing his class when bringing the ball out of defence. Made more ball recoveries (11), more clearances (8) and won more duels (10) than any other player on the pitch.

Sven Botman – 7 – Another dominant display from our Dutch man mountain. Failed to distribute as effectively as he has one in previous weeks and headed one half-chance wide in the second half, but was a brick wall defensively and showed he’s no slouch with a few quick recovery runs.

Dan Burn – 7 – Defensively sound, however it’s perhaps games like this where we need our left-back to offer more going forward. Got the better of Ayew but rarely made an impact in final third despite us getting joy down Palace’s left.

Bruno Guimaraes – 6 – Undeniably a world class player, but he was a level or two below his brilliant best here. Reliable in possession and got stuck in, yet was missing that touch of magic and didn’t look 100% fit. Struggled to impose himself on the game like we know he can.

Sean Longstaff – 6.5 – Great energy as always and kept things ticking, but his final ball in key areas can often let him down. Very tidy and strong defensively, just lacked the quality to change the game.

Joe Willock – 6 – Drove forward brilliantly in the first half, constantly getting into space down the left, but final ball was poor. Sometimes lacks composure in the final third.

Joelinton – 6 – Full of running in midfield, battled well and yet again bossed the battle as always. However, a few of our chances fell his way and he either failed to get a good connection or fired straight at Guaita.

Miguel Almiron – 6 – Lacked creativity in key areas and seemed to run out of ideas later on. Looked one dimensional at times with Palace rushing him into making decision. Forces a few corners and linked up nicely at times, but isn’t posing the same threat in the final third.

Callum Wilson – 5 – Looked off the pace all night. Perhaps needs a rest after recently overcoming illness, as he seems to lacking his explosive pace or power he once had. Didn’t look quite right all evening but hopefully will see him back to his best in the coming weeks.

SUBS:

Alexander Isak – 6 – Made some threatening runs in behind in the dying embers and won us plenty of corners and set pieces. Still recovering to match fitness.

Allan Saint-Maximin – 6 – Didn’t get on the ball enough but did work hard defensively. Had one half-chance that was deflected over.

Jacob Murphy – N/A – Only on for just over five minutes, but put a beautiful cross into the box late on and looked a threat down the right.