Fabian Schar, a Newcastle United defender, spoke about the team’s 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace.
Fabian Schar blasted Newcastle United’s performance as “unacceptable” following their 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
The Magpies returned to Selhurst Park after a 10-day hiatus, having defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-0. However, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second-half brace ended United’s four-match unbeaten streak.
Eddie Howe’s side dropped from sixth to seventh in the Premier League table as Manchester United defeated Sheffield United at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).
“It was, from start to finish, not a good game, especially the first 25 minutes – it was not good,” Schar said on NUFCTV. “They were on top, and it’s difficult when your team isn’t performing at its best. It was unacceptable the way we played today. As a squad, we must learn from this and improve significantly on Saturday.”
Palace broke the deadlock in the 56th minute when Jordan Ayew and Mateta combined before the latter placed the ball past Martin Dubravka.
Newcastle then had a penalty request knocked down after Sean Longstaff was brought down by Will Hughes’ challenge. The incident was reviewed by VAR, but the authorities at Stockley Park upheld referee Thomas Bramall’s initial ruling.
Schar revealed that even Hughes thought it was a penalty kick, but refused to use it as an excuse for the loss.
He said: “I believe their player thought it was a penalty. What I observed was fairly clear, and it would be a critical point in the game at 1-0.
“But we can’t blame them; ultimately, it wasn’t good enough. That could have revolutionized the game, but the rest of it was simply not at our desired level.”
United currently have five games remaining in the season and are confident that seventh place will be enough to win European qualifying for the second year in a row.
“Their [the fans] support is always there, we know that and the impact for us is huge,” Schar went on to say. “We need them, and we will put our hearts on the line in every game.
“I know what is possible this season and we want to achieve certain things but we know we have to do better.”
