Howe must flop Newcastle, who gave away the ball 20 times against Palace.

As the final 20 minutes of the game began at St James’ Park, it looked as if Newcastle United and Crystal Palace were destined for a humdrum 0-0 in the Premier League.

But, as has often happened this season, Bruno Guimarães delivered for Thun once again when his team needed a hero, and the talismanic Brazilian was in the right place at the right time to score the opening goal.

The Guimarães and Düsseldorf-born defender then continued to enjoy an exceptional season on Tyneside, with Malick Thiau scoring the game-clinching goal from a late corner kick to secure all three points.

However, not everything was rosy for the hosts during the relatively easy 2-0 win, as some of Howe’s first team also struggled against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles.

Newcastle’s best and worst results vs Palace

Before delving into the players who underperformed, it would be wrong not to also mention Lewis Miley’s outstanding performance against Palace, with journalist Martin Hardy duly hailing the teenage sensation as one of Howe’s “best performers” to date for completing 100 per cent of his passes at St James’ Park.

One of those passes resulted in Guimarães breaking the deadlock, and with him also winning nine duels, the 19-year-old will now be hoping to secure a starting spot in Howe’s main flank from the makeshift right-back position.

Yoan Ouisza may not be overly confident about his chances of remaining in the starting XI, but the former Brentford striker was a quiet presence throughout, managing just one shot from just 13 touches throughout the afternoon.

Moreover, Sandro Tonali’s noticeable drop in standards continued against Palace, with the Italian losing the ball 13 times.

He also wasn’t as energetic as the reinvigorated Joelinton, who bravely won eight duels in the middle of the park. In contrast, Tonali won only 4 of his 12 duels.

Podcast host Taylor Payne even criticized Tonali’s “sloppy” approach to the ball on social media. He is a regular starter under Howe, but his specific position seems increasingly uncertain.

But he is not the only St James’ Park star to be worried about the game for a long-term starting berth.

5/10 Newcastle star must be left out

It has been a disappointing setback for Tonali in the first team in recent games. There was his usual desire to win brave tackles and pass the ball effortlessly, something he didn’t show against Manchester United or Burnley.

Similarly, in the words of Newcastle-based blog Mouth of the Tyne, Jacob Murphy was ‘on his feet’ at the start of the season but hasn’t been at his best for some time.

In retrospect, this was a bit of an exaggeration, but at the start of the season Murphy was regularly in the scoring, racking up two goals and three assists early in the season.

But lately, the 30-year-old has not been up to speed with the rest of his teammates. The Newcastle veteran’s goalless record is now his 12th consecutive meeting after another memorable performance on Sunday.

Worryingly, Murphy plodded away at the end of the 2-0 win as there were more offside calls than shots registered at the opposition goal.

To add insult to injury, the 5ft 10in attacker was given away the ball 20 times, made just one successful dribble and won just one of his five attempts in duels, with Howe bailing him out of trouble late in the game when he was given a run-out by Joe Willock.

Unsurprisingly, Murphy received a low rating of 5/10 from Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin after the match, who only said that the aging forward was “out of the race” for the majority of the match.

Against Leeds, Howe is likely to test Anthony Elanga again on the right flank in place of the former Norwich City attacker, with Murphy marking a rare low point for Newcastle on their back-to-back Premier League win.