What Michael Olise did to prompt substitution as Patrick Vieira's boxing analogy takes hit

Patrick Vieira said he wanted his side to play like a boxer on Tyneside - one who had been hit but kept fighting on. That hit - referring to the Chelsea defeat - clearly knocked the Palace players harder than Vieira had expected though, especially if their first half at St James’ Park was anything to go by.

For the majority of the first half at St James’ Park the Eagles were second-best in almost every department. There were misplaced passes, throwaway fouls and a consistent failure to string together any kind of cohesive passage of play in the Newcastle half.

Newcastle had ten shots at goal during the first 45 minutes and eventually forced one into the net through Miguel Almiron - his first goal involvement of the season no less. And while Palace looked defeated on the St James’ canvas, their second-half performance showed more of the fighting spirit that Vieira was looking for from the outset.

The Eagles had 78 per cent of the ball in the second period but couldn’t land any kind of knockout blow no matter how hard they tried. Buoyed by a superb atmosphere from the home crowd, Newcastle held on and ensured Martin Dubravka, for all Palace tried to conjure, was rarely tested.

“I think we responded well,” Vieira told after the match. “In the second half, I was very pleased with the way we wanted to compete against them. I was happy with that. But we need to do it from the first half an hour, from the first minute of the game we have to compete better. The way we entered the game gave them confidence and belief. We didn't compete well enough in the first half an hour.”

With six Premier League bouts left for Crystal Palace and a top-half finish in the Premier League still mathematically attainable, the task for Vieira and