Jean-Philippe Mateta emerged as Crystal Palace’s hero with a late brace off the bench to seal a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Newcastle United at Selhurst Park.
The match struggled to find rhythm in the opening half, but briefly sparked into life when Aaron Ramsdale produced a superb double save, first denying Yeremy Pino from distance, before reacting quickly to keep out Daniel Muñoz on the rebound.
Despite limited attacking threat, Newcastle struck first just before the break.
William Osula converted from close range after a well-worked move involving Jacob Murphy and Lewis Miley down the right.
Osula nearly doubled the advantage early in the second half, capitalising on a loose pass, but Dean Henderson reacted sharply to block with his foot.
Crystal Palace gradually grew into the contest, with Jefferson Lerma rattling the crossbar as the hosts increased the pressure.
Their persistence paid off in the 80th minute when Mateta rose to head home the equaliser, his first Premier League goal since January 1.
The turnaround was completed deep into stoppage time. After Sven Botman was penalised for pulling Lerma’s shirt, Mateta confidently dispatched the resulting penalty to secure all three points.
The victory marks Palace’s first home league win after trailing at half-time since October 2022. Mateta’s impact proved decisive, taking his league tally to 10 goals this season, more than any other Palace player.
He also moved to 31 Premier League goals at Selhurst Park, just one behind club icon Wilfried Zaha.
For Newcastle, the result is another setback in their push for European qualification. The Magpies have now dropped 25 points from winning positions this season, the highest tally in the Premier League.
