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This video can not be played Second‑half lift sees Newcastle ease past Palace At a glance Newcastle up to ninth and leapfrog Crystal Palace, who are winless in seven across all competitions Anthony Gordon and Joelinton have goals disallowed in first half Brennan Johnson plays 72 minutes on Palace debut after £35m move from Tottenham Will Hughes misses golden chance to put visitors in front PLAYER RATER Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes inspired his side to victory as they began the new year with a hard-fought victory against Crystal Palace. Head coach Eddie Howe called January a "season-defining" month for his side before the game and suggested Newcastle "won't get another chance" to kick-start their league season once and for all. Yet it looked like both sides were set to share the spoils after Anthony Gordon and Joelinton had goals disallowed in the first half, and Will Hughes wasted a golden opportunity to open the scoring for Crystal Palace. But Guimaraes led by example with another big goal on home soil to break the deadlock with less than 20 minutes to go. It was Guimaraes who got there ahead of Justin Devenny to head the ball past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson and give the host lift-off. Newcastle have dropped some precious points from winning positions this season but, this time, Howe's team finished strongly and Guimaraes had a big hand in his side's second. It was from his inswinging corner kick that Newcastle doubled their lead after Henderson could only parry the wicked delivery, and the ball eventually fell to Malick Thiaw, who swept home. Newcastle leapfrogged Crystal Palace in the table in the process and have moved up to ninth. Palace, meanwhile, have slipped to 14th and Oliver Glasner's side are now without a win in seven games in all competitions. This video can not be played Beating Palace 'a big step forward' - Howe St James' felt edgy and nervy. There were little more than 20 minutes to go and a late winner was far from a foregone conclusion for the hosts. But the man who scored Newcastle's final goal of 2025 stepped up with their first of 2026 to send his side on the way to another important victory. Time and time again Guimaraes has delivered with crucial goals at St James' in recent months. There were openers against Crystal Palace, Burnley and Nottingham Forest, and even a late winner versus Fulham. Guimaraes, in the process, has already matched his best goalscoring season for the club with seven goals. To say he is this side's talisman would be an understatement. "Bruno is a very special player, person and character, " Howe said. "He's very positive, has great energy and played a captain's role because that game was always going to be decided by a very key moment - and he has come up with the big one for us. He's done it countless times. "Your big players normally decide big games and today was a big game for us decided by a huge player in our recent history. " This video can not be played Newcastle United 2-0 Crystal Palace: Oliver Glasner post-match interview This was ultimately a debut which ended in defeat for Crystal Palace forward Brennan Johnson. Although Johnson only completed his £35m move from Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, it was rather telling that Glasner threw him straight in from the off at St James'. It reflected the lack of options at his disposal but, also, his side's recent issues in front of goal. Johnson offered a couple of glimpses of what he will offer with some neat footwork and rapid pace on the break. One such counter saw Johnson race down the right and cut the ball back to Jean-Philippe Mateta - only for the Palace striker to see his shot blocked. But Johnson is not going to solve Crystal Palace's issues alone, on an afternoon where the visitors mustered just a single shot on target. How Glasner will rue Hughes' first-half miss, in particular, the midfielder somehow poking wide from close range to leave his manager with his hands on his head on the touchline. Newcastle host Leeds United at St James' Park on Wednesday (20: 15 GMT) before another home game against Bournemouth in the FA Cup on Saturday (15: 00). Crystal Palace welcome Aston Villa to Selhurst Park on Wednesday (19: 30) before travelling to Moss Rose to take on non-league Macclesfield in the FA Cup on Saturday (12: 15). Have your say on Newcastle's performance What did you make of Crystal Palace's display? After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 4th January 2026 at 19: 30 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Eddie Howe Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Eddie Howe Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Oliver Glasner Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Premier League All competitions All competitions All competitions Newcastle have lost just one of their last eight Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W3 D4), going down 2-0 at Selhurst Park in April 2024. Crystal Palace have failed to score in any of their last four Premier League away games against Newcastle (D1 L3), losing the last two by an aggregate score of 9-0. Newcastle have kept a clean sheet in their last four Premier League home games against Crystal Palace, only keeping five in a row against Coventry (between 1994 and 1998). Newcastle have won their last two Premier League home games against Crystal Palace by 4-0 and 5-0 scorelines. They last scored 4+ goals in three consecutive home league games against an opponent vs Luton between 1947 and 1956. Newcastle won 2-1 at Spurs in their first league game of 2025. They’ve not won their opening league match in consecutive calendar years since 2011/2012 (vs Wigan and Man Utd respectively). Newcastle won 3-1 at Burnley last time out, but only once this season have they managed to win consecutive Premier League games, beating Man City and Everton in November. Crystal Palace lost 4-1 in their last Premier League away game against Leeds, shipping just one goal fewer in that defeat than they had in their first eight away league games this season (5). Yoane Wissa has been involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League starts (6 goals, 2 assists), netting on his first league start for Newcastle against Burnley last time out. With six goals in 18 appearances, this is already Bruno Guimarães’ second best goalscoring season for Newcastle United in the Premier League, behind only 2023-24 (7 in 37 games). Crystal Palace striker Eddie Nketiah has scored just once in his last 40 away appearances in the Premier League, netting at Fulham last month. Meanwhile, Nketiah hasn’t scored north of London in the Premier League since his first ever goal in the competition in May 2019 (against Burnley). Goal! Newcastle United 2, Crystal Palace 0. Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner following a corner. Substitution, Newcastle United. Nick Woltemade replaces Yoane Wissa. Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Jaydee Canvot. Attempt saved. Harvey Barnes (Newcastle United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace). Assisted by Fabian Schär with a cross. Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Maxence Lacroix. Offside, Crystal Palace. Yéremy Pino is caught offside. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace). Substitution, Crystal Palace. Christantus Uche replaces Brennan Johnson. Goal! Newcastle United 1, Crystal Palace 0. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) header from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lewis Miley following a set piece situation. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace). Attempt blocked. Harvey Barnes (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tino Livramento. Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Jaydee Canvot. Jacob Ramsey (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Yéremy Pino (Crystal Palace). Attempt saved. Brennan Johnson (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Nick Pope (Newcastle United). Assisted by Adam Wharton. Substitution, Newcastle United. Jacob Ramsey replaces Sandro Tonali. Substitution, Newcastle United. Tino Livramento replaces Lewis Hall. Substitution, Newcastle United. Harvey Barnes replaces Anthony Gordon. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.