Palace fans will have been in high spirits after Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League quarter-final first-leg success over Fiorentina, yet the Eagles kicked off with just one win in nine league games directly following European fixtures (D2, L6).
A much-changed line-up hinted at Oliver Glasner’s priorities, yet the hosts looked entirely comfortable during a low-key first half-hour in which neither side created anything of note – highlighting why Palace have seen a PL-low four goals scored during that period of home league games.
Eventually, the game sparked into life when Aaron Ramsdale pushed away Yeremy Pino's curling effort before throwing out an arm to deny Daniel Munoz’s rifled follow-up.
The game’s first shots on target were followed by a period of Palace pressure, with Jaydee Canvot heading a corner over from inside the six-yard box, shortly before Lewis Hall prevented Munoz from making clean contact at the end of a darting run into the box.
But just as the Eagles had gathered some momentum, they were dealt a blow two minutes from half-time, when Maxence Lacroix attempted to intercept Lewis Miley’s low cross, instead taking the pace off and allowing William Osula to turn home an improvised finish.
The tempo remained downbeat after the restart as Palace struggled to get going, relying on Dean Henderson to thwart Osula after the striker had worked a shooting angle.
Pino bent a close-range shot wayward before Glasner turned to his bench, making a triple alteration in hopes of injecting an attacking spark.
A set-piece delivery from Pino almost unlocked the Newcastle defence, but Jefferson Lerma headed square onto the crossbar from point-blank range, extending the hosts’ frustrations.
However, with 80 minutes played, substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta levelled the game with a header into the ground after Tyrick Mitchell had shown the presence of mind to square the ball while under pressure from Ramsdale.
There was still time for late drama when Lerma went down under contact from Sven Botman, allowing Mateta to dispatch from the spot in stoppage time to seal a dramatic turnaround victory for the Eagles.
That goal helped Palace to just their fourth PL home win of the season (D7, L5), a number that will need to increase if they are to improve on what looks certain to be a lower midtable finish this campaign.
Just a second loss in 11 H2Hs (W5, D4) leaves Newcastle 14th in the league table, slipping behind their victorious opponents to boot.