Neil Warnock's return to Palace resulted in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Newcastle at St James' Park. The Eagles made the brighter start thanks to a Dwight Gayle goal after just 31 seconds. With new signing Daryl Janmaat equalising for Newcastle, and scoring their first goal of the season in the process. Jason Puncheon managed to give Palace the lead again three minutes into the second half, with a well timed volley from just inside the area.
Teenager Rolando Aarons came on and within six minutes of coming on, scored with a header. He then turned provider, setting up Mike Williamson, seemingly giving Newcastle the win. That was until Palace sub Wilfried Zaha managed to find the net in the fifth minute of seven added on.
Alan Pardew has addressed his main issue. The departure of Loic Remy meant he had a hole up front which needed filling. He's brought in Emmanuel Rivière, Facundo Ferreyra and Ayoze Perez to fill the gap.
Palace have brought in experienced Premier League players Brede Hangeland, Frazier Campbell, Martin Kelly and Zaha to build on their impressive 11th place finish last season. Their main issue appears to be defending however, as they've conceded 8 goals in 3 games.
The game was a thriller from start to finish, with Tim Krul being forced into action after 31 seconds, after Marouane Chamakh forced a save from him, only for Krul to parry it into the way of Gayle, who scored.
Janmaat scored after the ball bounced around the box, he put it in the back of the net to give the Magpies their first goal at the third attempt, the irony being it was a defender who scored it. This meant the teams were level at half time after Janmaat scored with eight minutes to go in the half.
Just as they did in the first half, Palace started the brighter side, with Puncheon scoring with a volley from just inside the area to restore their lead. It seems the rift between player and manager is over, with Puncheon continuing his strong goal scoring record.
This was when teenager Aarons was introduced, and it only took him six minutes to make an impact, after he scored with a well timed header to draw his side level yet again. He thought he'd won the game for the Magpies after setting up Williamson after Aarons' shot came off the post for Williamson to bundle home from a couple of yards out.
Zaha thought he'd equalised earlier only for it to be ruled out for offside. But he got his goal after he threaded the ball past many bodies to give Palace a point.
In the end a draw is a fair result for the two sides, both managers will be happy with their result. It gives Warnock a positive start to his second Palace reign. With Pardew hoping his goal scoring problem is no more after their 3 goals today.
VAVEL Ratings
| Newcastle United | Crystal Palace | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Krul | 7 | Speroni | 7 |
| Janmaat | 7 | Mariappa | 7 |
| Williamson | 6 | Dann | 5 |
| Coloccini | 7 | Delaney | 5 |
| Haidara | 7 | Kelly | 7 |
| Cabella | 6 | Puncheon | 7 |
| Colback | 6 | Jedinak | 7 |
| Sissoko | 6 | Ward | 6 |
| Gouffran | 6 | Bolasie | 6 |
| de Jong | 7 | Chamakh | 6 |
| Riviere | 6 | Gayle | 7 |
| Substitutions | |||
| Aarons | 8 | Zaha | 7 |
| Perez | 5 | Campbell | 6 |
| Anita | N/A | Murray | 6 |