Newcastle United’s bid for European football suffered a blow as they lost 2-0 at a resurgent Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. The Magpies are now seventh in the table after Manchester United came from behind twice to beat Sheffield United at Old Trafford on the same night.
Eddie Howe’s side remain locked in the battle for a Europa League or Europa Conference League place next season, with up to seven teams from England able to enter European competitions next campaign. Things might have panned out different at Selhurst Park had the visitors been awarded a penalty when Will Hughes pulled back Sean Longstaff in the area. Nothing was given by the officials with VAR supporting the on-field call.
The fixture was poised 1-0 at the time following Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half opener before the same man wrapped up the three points with a second goal two minutes from time. Howe put the decision down to a 50/50 call but defender Fabian Schar complained about the outcome.
He said: “Even their player thought it was a penalty I think. What I saw was pretty clear and it would be a big moment in the game at 1-0 but we can’t blame it on what happened. Overall it wasn’t good enough, [the penalty decision] could have changed the game the rest of the game was not at the level we want to be.”
The incident follows on from Nottingham Forest’s public complaints after being denied three penalties against Everton last weekend, with VAR also choosing not to get involved in on-field decisions at Goodison Park. With VAR making headlines yet again this season, we have put together how the table might look without the involvement of Stockley Park. Factoring in goals that were awarded or chalked off as a result of the technology, including via penalties, here is where Newcastle could sit compared to rivals.
