Eddie Howe may not have been at St. James’ Park on Wednesday evening, but the Newcastle United manager’s genius was very much present as his team brushed Crystal Palace aside.
Brushed them aside as if they were nothing. Eagles reduced to mites, returning to Selhurst Park in tattered frustration. For Newcastle, the 5-0 win has lifted them above Nottingham Forest and into third place, further into the firm soil of Champions League qualification.
With six Premier League games left to play, the Carabao Cup champions are playing brilliantly, top of the form charts and determined to return to Europe’s elite stage.
The unity from head to toe is a product of Howe’s tactics and the players’ reaction to the boss’s teachings. So many good performances. However, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak proved themselves the picks of the bunch once again.
Isak & Murphy run riot
Last season, Anthony Gordon was crowned Newcastle’s Player of the Year after a standout season that saw him guide his team through injury-troubled waters.
Gordon remains a core part of a high-flying, trophy-winning Magpies attack, but this has been Isak and Murphy’s year. Both were on the scoresheet against Palace, with Murphy also setting up Fabian Schar’s goal before the break.
Isak is one of Europe’s best strikers, now boasting 25 goals and six assists across all competitions. It’s no wonder that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool want to sign the £150m-rated man, but their efforts will likely fall short this summer.
Murphy, however, has ripped up the narrative to shift from inconsequential squad player to an utter force in the Premier League. How it’s happened? Hard graft and unbreakable trust from his manager, who has hailed his industriousness and promoted his potency in front of goal.
This new regime, painstakingly constructed, has served as a solvent for the years of hurt and upset on Tyneside, but Newcastle aren’t just an outfit pieced of superstars, with Murphy’s rise evidence that all can step up and reach new heights in Howe’s system.
Indeed, there’s another Newcastle star who’s gone from strength to strength in recent weeks and is now recorded as playing like Barcelona sensation Raphinha, who is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
Newcastle's own Raphinha
The man in question, as you may well have guessed, is Harvey Barnes, who has risen in stature and responsibility over recent weeks and has been praised, alongside Murphy, as being one of the “two best wide players in the Premier League right now” by pundit Chris Sutton.
Newcastle ran rampant against Oliver Glasner’s Palace, and he got himself another goal.
Talk about a purple patch. Barnes’ strike means he has scored in three successive Premier League matches, four goals in total, having laid on two assists in as many fixtures before.
Barnes’ beauty lies in its simplicity. He carries an Arjen Robben-esque quality of swooping inwards and firing at goal. His strikes bear the crispness of a sure-handled rifle shot, the snap and confidence of a predator starting to pounce.
The 27-year-old played the full 90 against Palace, and though he wasn’t in the thick of the action, he still came away with an excellent goal to add to the haul, underlining his ability to strike when a chance falls his way. The Shields Gazette could award him no less than a 9/10 match rating for his performance, hailing his finishing.
Barnes might not have started all the time since transferring to Tyneside from relegated Leicester City in 2023, but he carries that natural threat that makes him such a dangerous weapon.
It’s something that Raphinha has built up himself under Hansi Flick’s wing at Barcelona this term. Though the Brazilian is more of a natural playmaker than Newcastle’s man, there’s little question that there are similarities between the two.
Both players have been clutch for their sides this season, Barnes growing into his increasingly talismanic role in recent weeks following Gordon’s suspension, picked up against Brighton & Hove Albion during that bitter FA Cup defeat.
Goals
0.64
0.50
Assists
0.21
0.31
Shots taken
3.35
3.38
Shot-creating actions
3.35
5.19
Touches (att pen)
6.28
5.76
Pass completion
78.6%
69.4%
Progressive passes
4.28
4.69
Progressive carries
4.71
2.96
Successful take-ons
1.36
1.69
Both wide forwards are among the most statistically prolific players in their divisions, with both athletically remarkable yet opting against the kind of unrelenting runs and creative passes that others produce. Instead, they conserve their energy, use their intelligence to pick out teammates or strike on goal at the perfect moment.
Barnes might not have enjoyed his counterpart’s consistency, but FBref record that data-wise they are comparable, a testament to the England international’s quality. It’s exciting to think that with further success over the coming weeks, he might indeed finish the season as one of the most talked-about stars.
Of course, the United star might be one of the best wide players in English football right now but Raphinha has actually been dubbed “Europe’s best player” across the 2024/25 campaign by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley.
Barcelona would hardly want to sell such a superstar but are financially troubled and have been reported to have listed him at €100m (roughly £86m) as suitors begin to circle.
It all just goes to show how staggering the project that Howe has created at St. James’ Park really is.
Newcastle were interested in signing the La Blaugrana sensation last summer but opted against it in the end due to PSR concerns. Perhaps they will be among the crowd of contenders this summer, for inevitably the clubs will line up for a player so talented, so in-form.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, with Barnes already in the mix, alongside a dynamic and deadly frontline, fans won’t lose any sleep if it doesn’t come to play. They already have their own version of the £86m-rated star.
103 touches, 87% passing: 9/10 Newcastle star is now as undroppable as Isak
Newcastle romped home to victory against Crystal Palace in a 5-0 demolition job at St James’ Park.
ByKelan SarsonApr 17, 2025
