14 games and counting without an EPL win for Newcastle
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Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell, left, and Leeds United’s Raphinha battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds U… Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell, left, and Leeds United’s Raphinha battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Crystal Palace at Elland Road, Leeds, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark fouls Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki, right, leading to a red card during the English Premier League soccer match between … Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark fouls Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki, right, leading to a red card during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Norwich City at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Norwich City a… Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson, right, celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Norwich City at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark is sent off during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Norwich City at St James’ Park… Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark is sent off during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Norwich City at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Newcastle’s agonizing wait for a first win in the Premier League this season is heading into December.
It’s 14 games and counting without a victory for the northeast club, which recently came under Saudi ownership, after a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich that pitted the bottom two teams in the league against each other on Tuesday.
Newcastle, which is in last place, became the fourth team to fail to win any of their first 14 matches in a Premier League campaign, according to Opta, the league’s statistics supplier. The previous three — Swindon (1993-94), Queens Park Rangers (2012-13) and Sheffield United (last season) — all went on to get relegated.
The visit of Norwich represented perhaps Newcastle’s best chance of securing that elusive win, yet a ninth-minute red card for center back Ciaran Clark — for bringing down Teemu Pukki when last man — left Eddie Howe’s team with an uphill task at St. James’ Park.
Even a man down, Newcastle looked the more dangerous team and took the lead in the 61st minute when Callum Wilson converted a penalty after Federico Fernandez’s header struck the raised hand of Billy Gilmour.
Pukki equalized in the 79th with a left-footed volley into the top corner.
“It’s a missed opportunity," Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey said. “We defended brilliantly throughout — everyone to a man worked their socks off. It’s unfortunate the red card early doors gave us a mountain to climb.”
Newcastle, which is on seven points, moved to within two points of Burnley, which has played two games fewer. Norwich is a point further ahead and is unbeaten in three games since Dean Smith was hired as manager to replace Daniel Farke.
LATE PENALTY
Leeds was another recipient of a penalty for a raised arm blocking a goal-bound header at a corner, and Raphinha took full advantage.
The Brazil winger converted it coolly in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Leeds only its third win of the season and move Marcelo Bielsa’s team five points above the relegation zone.
Marc Guéhi was the culprit, stretching out his arm to block a headed attempt by Liam Cooper. Again, it needed the referee to check the pitchside monitor before the penalty was finally awarded.
Palace has lost back-to-back games to stall the momentum the team had under manager Patrick Vieira.
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Raphinha’s late penalty earns Leeds 1-0 EPL win over Palace
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Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard, left, and Leeds United’s Daniel James battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Lee… Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard, left, and Leeds United’s Daniel James battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Crystal Palace at Elland Road, Leeds, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, left, and Leeds United’s Stuart Dallas battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leed… Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, left, and Leeds United’s Stuart Dallas battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Crystal Palace at Elland Road, Leeds, England, Tuesday Nov. 30, 2021. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
LEEDS, England (AP) — Brazil winger Raphinha converted a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Leeds a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that moved the team five points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone on Tuesday.
In a dramatic ending to a lackluster match at Elland Road, the referee needed to check the pitchside monitor before awarding a spot kick after Palace defender Marc Guéhi blocked a goal-bound header from Liam Cooper with a raised arm at a corner.
Raphinha’s penalty kick was nonchalant as he stepped up to the ball and sent it to goalkeeper Vicente Guaita’s left.
It was only a third win of the season for Leeds, which hardly troubled Palace as its struggle for goals continued while star striker Patrick Bamford is out injured. The penalty was Leeds’ 13th goal of the season — only five teams have fewer.
Substitute Christian Benteke wasted Palace’s best chance, heading wide from barely three yards (meters) out at the back post from Wilfried Zaha’s cross.
It was a second straight loss for Palace, which was beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa on Saturday.
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MATCHDAY: Liverpool primed to pile on misery for Everton
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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah plays with a ball during warmup before the Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield stadium,… Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah plays with a ball during warmup before the Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield stadium, in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
ENGLAND
Arriving with the best attack in the Premier League, Liverpool looks primed to pile on the misery for local rival Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Everton hasn’t won any of its last seven games and the pressure is increasing on manager Rafa Benitez, who is taking on his former club. Meanwhile, Liverpool great Steve Gerrard could do his old club a big favor by leading Aston Villa, where he has recently taken over as manager, to a win over Manchester City, one of Liverpool’s main title contenders. Second-place City is a point ahead of third-place Liverpool and a point behind Chelsea, which is also in action at Watford. Fourth-place West Ham is at home to Brighton, third-to-last Burnley looks for just its second win of the season in a trip to Wolverhampton, and Leicester travels to Southampton.
SPAIN
Spanish league leader Real Madrid can increase its advantage at the top when it hosts Athletic Bilbao in a match postponed from the ninth round. Madrid is four points clear from both Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad. Madrid is unbeaten against Athletic in 12 league matches, with eight wins and four losses. Eighth-place Athletic hasn’t won in five consecutive league matches. In the Copa del Rey, Sevilla plays at Córdoba, Real Sociedad visits Panadería Pulido and Real Betis plays at CFI Alicante.
ITALY
After losing back-to-back Serie A matches, AC Milan will try to get back on track in the league when it visits relegation-threatened Genoa. Milan has slipped three points below league leader Napoli, which travels to Sassuolo. Inter Milan will be looking to take advantage of any slip up from the top two and hosts lowly Spezia. The defending champion is third, four points below Napoli. Also fifth-placed Roma visits Bologna.
FRANCE
It’s Super Wednesday in Ligue 1 with 10 games in the evening. Leader Paris Saint-Germain will miss an injured Neymar when it hosts third-placed Nice. PSG will rely on Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to crack the joint-tightest defense in the league. On a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions, Rennes can consolidate second place against defending champion Lille. Expect goals in that game as it features Lille’s Jonathan David, the league’s top scorer, and Rennes’ Gaetan Laborde, the second most prolific scorer. Marseille can make up ground in the race for Champions League spots with a win at mid-table Nantes. Lyon will host Reims without spectators after the league sanctioned Lyon for incidents at home on Nov. 21 when Dimitri Payet was hit on the head by a bottle of water thrown from the stands in a game that was abandoned.
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