Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle United: Mateta brace seals second-half turnaround

Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench to score a second-half double as Crystal Palace defeated Newcastle United 2-1 at Selhurst Park.

A sluggish first-half burst into life as Aaron Ramsdale was forced into a magnificent double save, first denying Yeremy Pino from range and then keeping out the rebound from Daniel Munoz.

The visitors took the lead shortly before half-time with their first shot on target as William Osula finished from close range after Jacob Murphy and Lewis Miley had combined down the right flank.

Osula went close to a second after the break as he latched onto a loose pass, but he was denied by the outstretched foot of Palace keeper Dean Henderson.

Jefferson Lerma headed against the crossbar as Palace upped the pressure, and their positive play was rewarded when substitute Mateta headed home in the 80th minute, scoring in the Premier League for the first time since January 1.

Palace’s comeback was complete in the fourth minute of stoppage time, with Mateta slamming home from the penalty spot after Sven Botman’s tug on Lerma’s shirt.

A successful afternoon at Selhurst pic.twitter.com/BWw00JYoAR

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 12, 2026

Data Debrief: Palace claim rare comeback win

Palace came back with a bite late on here, even if they did look rather rusty for much of the match. This marked the Eagles’ first win at home in a league match in which they trailed at half-time since October 2022.

Mateta made the key difference from the bench, and he now has 10 league goals this season, which is two more than any other Palace player, while he also has 31 league goals at Selhurst Park, with only Wilfried Zaha (32) netting more in the competition.

He scored from both of his shots, and was responsible for 1.12 of Palace’s overall 2.34 expected goals.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have seen their European ambitions take another hit. The Magpies have now dropped 25 points from winning positions this season, more than any other team in the Premier League.