Osula and Barnes seal Newcastle's 2-0 win at Palace to heap pressure on Pierre Sage

William Osula and Harvey Barnes scored within the opening ten minutes of the second half at Selhurst Park on Sunday as Newcastle defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 in the Premier League, intensifying the pressure on Eagles manager Pierre Sage.

The result was a damaging one for Palace, who had shown some resilience in a 2-2 Europa League draw at Besiktas on Thursday — a response, of sorts, to the 5-0 thrashing they suffered at Brighton the previous Sunday. But the home side could not build on that momentum, and boos from sections of the Selhurst Park crowd greeted the final whistle.

The first half offered little in the way of clear-cut chances. Palace had the brighter openings, with Jean-Philippe Mateta directing an effort just wide in the 12th minute and Tyrick Mitchell having a shot blocked late on. Newcastle goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek was rarely tested, though he did punch away a Palace cross and collect a Yeremy Pino cross-shot before the break.

Osula broke the deadlock less than two minutes after the restart, latching onto a precise Jacob Murphy cross and prodding home. It was his seventh Premier League goal in his last 13 appearances, a remarkable return for a player who had scored just twice in his first 50 league outings.

Joe Willock thought he had doubled the lead shortly after, but a VAR check ruled him offside and the goal was chalked off. The disallowance proved only a brief reprieve for Palace. Two minutes before the hour, Amar Dedic found Harvey Barnes in space and the winger swept home to make it 2-0.

Hornicek kept Newcastle’s clean sheet intact with a diving save to deny Adam Wharton and another stop to keep out substitute Dario Osorio as Palace searched for a way back into the game. A VAR review for a potential red card against Pino ultimately allowed him to stay on the pitch, and a lengthy stoppage-time delay to treat Malick Thiaw further disrupted any Palace momentum.

The Eagles never looked capable of mounting a genuine comeback, and the final whistle was met with audible frustration from the home support — a pointed signal of the growing discontent surrounding Sage’s tenure.