Pressure Mounts on Postecoglou as Newcastle Downs Forest; Grealish Ends Palace’s Historic Run
Two major storylines emerged from Sunday’s Premier League action, with Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou facing increasing scrutiny following a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, and Crystal Palace’s remarkable 19-game unbeaten streak finally coming to an end with a last-gasp winner from Jack Grealish at Everton.
Nottingham Forest’s poor start to the season under new boss Ange Postecoglou continued at St. James’ Park. The 2-0 loss to a Newcastle side that had only secured one victory in their first six league matches means the Australian remains winless after seven competitive games—a dubious distinction not seen at the club in over a century.
Postecoglou, who was previously dismissed by Tottenham despite winning the Europa League last term, heard calls for his sacking from a section of his own supporters during Thursday’s 3-2 Europa League reverse against Midtjylland.
His immediate future with the club now appears precarious, with owner Evangelos Marinakis potentially considering a change during the upcoming international break.
The deadlock was broken in the 58th minute by a stunning strike from outside the area by Newcastle’s Brazilian midfielder, Bruno Guimarães.
The victory was sealed late on when Guimarães was fouled inside the box by his former teammate Elliot Anderson, resulting in a penalty. Nick Woltemade stepped up to emphatically convert the spot-kick into the top corner, marking his fourth goal for the Magpies since his arrival from Stuttgart last month.
The defeat sees Forest drop to 17th position in the league table.
In the afternoon’s other headline fixture, Crystal Palace’s incredible run without defeat was dramatically halted by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Eagles, missing a chance to climb into second place, seemed poised for a positive result after Daniel Munoz put them ahead in the 37th minute, capitalizing on a pass from Ismaila Sarr. Despite dominating the first half, Palace failed to extend their advantage, a lapse in concentration that may have been a consequence of their midweek Conference League efforts—a victorious away trip to Dynamo Kyiv.
Everton mounted a second-half comeback, first drawing level with an Iliman Ndiaye penalty after Maxence Lacroix fouled Beto.
The drama reached its crescendo in stoppage time when Jack Grealish secured his first goal for the Toffees. The Manchester City loanee benefited from a fortunate rebound, as Daniel Munoz’s attempted clearance ricocheted off him and into the net, sealing the 2-1 victory and consigning Palace to their first loss since April.
