CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1):

Hennessey 6; Ward 7, Dann 8, Delaney 7, Souare 8; McArthur 8, Cabaye 7 (Lee 75); Zaha 8 (Jedinak 67, 5), Puncheon 7, BOLASIE 9; Wickham 8 (Bamford 86).

Subs (not used): Speroni (gk), Kelly, Ledley, Chamakh.

 

NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1):

5 Elliot: Couldn’t really be blamed for any of the goals and produced an excellent second-half save to deny Ward

3 Janmaat: Couldn’t handle Bolasie for most of the afternoon, and was beaten far too easily for Palace’s second goal

3 Mbemba: Made some dreadful decisions, the worst of which saw him go to ground senselessly as Wickham set up Zaha’s goal

3 Coloccini: If this was the captain’s reaction to last week’s criticism, it’s hard to see how there’s any way back – another really poor display

3 Dummett: Didn’t have any support, but was still repeatedly embarrassed by Zaha’s dribbling – found wanting for the second week running

4 Colback: Recalled in place of the injured Tiote but was unable to get to grips with Palace’s ability on the counter-attack

4 Anita: Another performance that questions his ability to cope in the Premier League – too many players simply ran past him

3 Sissoko: Thinks he should be playing in the Champions League, but is a key factor in Newcastle’s slide towards the Championship – ambles around without a care in the world

4 Perez: Couldn’t really get into the game before the interval, and was sacrificed as McClaren switched to a five-man defence at the break

3 Wijnaldum: Increasingly looks like a liability on the left-hand side – doesn’t track back and leaves those behind him horribly exposed

6 CISSE: Took the only real chance that came Newcastle’s way and offered much more than Mitrovic had in the previous couple of games

 

Subs:

3 Lascelles (for Perez, 46): Brought on in an attempt to shore things up, but his dreadful clearance handed Palace their fifth goal

5 De Jong (for Colback, 69): Hardly changed the game, but at least drilled in a shot that was deflected narrowly wide

5 Gouffran (for Wijnaldum, 69): Has his limitations, but at least displayed a bit more positional discipline than the player he replaced

(not used): Darlow (gk), Sterry, Lascelles, Thauvin, Mitrovic.

 

Man Of The Match: YANNICK BOLASIE – Scored two and might well have finished with a hat-trick – displayed the kind of drive and desire that Newcastle so conspicuously lack.