The lowdown on Crystal Palace 1 Newcastle 1 – Munoz saves point as Eagles move out of bottom three ahead of crucial Ipswich clash

Daniel Munoz scored in the 93rd minute to rescue a point for Crystal Palace in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Saturday.

The Eagles had 16 shots compared to the visitors’ lone attempt, but couldn’t get past Nick Pope for most of the game.

Here’s the lowdown on the match:

THE LINEUPS

Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Chalobah (Schlupp 84), Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Hughes (Nketiah 77), Lerma, Eze {Devenny 65), Sarr, Mateta.

Subs: Turner, Ward, Clyne, Richards, Doucoure, Kporha.

Newcastle: Pope, Schar, Joelinton, Tonali, Gordon (Wilson 75), Isak (Barnes 22), Hall, Livramento, Wilock (Longstaff 75), Burn, Guimaraes.

Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, Osula, Murphy, Almiron, Kelly.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

Daniel Munoz should have put the Eagles ahead in the 35th minute after a beautiful team move on the counter-attack as Ismaila Sarr pulled the ball to the back post for the Colombian defender to attack.

However, on his weaker left foot, Munoz was only able to push his effort just wide of Nick Pope’s goal.

The Magpies took the lead in the 52nd minute when Anthony Gordon squeezed a cross from a quick free-kick past goal and Marc Guehi turned the ball into his own net.

Palace should have equalized on the hour mark when Sarr was played through, but found Pope in his way again. Munoz followed but Dan Burn blocked his effort.

Mateta was next to go close in the 73rd minute, firing just over Pope’s crossbar from a corner.

The equalizer finally came in the 93rd minute when Guehi crossed to the back post and Munoz scored his first ever Palace goal by sneaking a header past Pope.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Eberechi Eze returned to the starting line-up after recovering from his hamstring injury, with goalscorer of the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa Justin Devenny returning to the bench.

Jean-Philippe Mateta struggled against Burn in the first half and the visitors looked to use their speedy wing-backs to exploit the space in Palace’s back three.

The first half was a match where the two teams outplayed each other evenly – very little was created and neither side managed a shot on target.

BEST MOMENT

Celebration for Munoz’s equalizer.

Manager Oliver Glasner sprinted from his own technical area to celebrate with his players in the corner of the stadium where the Holmesdale Road meets the main stand.

STAR MAN

Ismaila Sarr. Sarr has taken advantage of the club’s injury crisis and has been given the opportunity to showcase his abilities for longer periods in recent matches.

His counter-attacking breakaway and burst of pace led to Munoz’s opening miss, but credit goes to the Senegalese striker for creating it.

A TALKING POINT IN THE PUB

A big week for Palace.

The late point lifted the Eagles out of the bottom three and above Wolves.

Glasner’s side now have 48 hours to prepare for a crucial match at the wrong end of the Premier League when they visit 19th-placed Ipswich Town on Tuesday evening.

Both sides have won just once all season and the south Londoners will be looking to use their Premier League talent to move even further away from the drop zone.

Palace will then receive Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Saturday, which has lost its last three league matches.

WHAT TO SAY BOSS

“The result is not a good result if we look at the performance.

“The performance was very, very positive. Against Newcastle we had sixteen shots in a hundred minutes. We only allowed them once the entire game.

“We deserved more today, with the way the players played and the chances we created.

“If you score the equalizer in the 94th minute, you have to be happy with that. That is indeed the case, but the feeling is not that it was a matter of luck.”

PHOTOS: KEITH GILLARD

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