Marc Guehi admits Newcastle United 'wanted it more' than Crystal Palace as the Magpies recorded their sixth straight victory at St James' Park. A spectacular first-half strike from Miguel Almiron was enough to secure a narrow win over the Eagles on Wednesday night.
Eddie Howe's side made a confident start to the contest, but were forced to defend for long spells of the second half as the visitors enjoyed the lionshare of possession. Wilfried Zaha came closest to an equaliser, but Palace struggled to fashion openings against the Magpies' stubborn defence.
The latest win has lifted Newcastle to the 40-point mark with five matches remaining. Guehi feels the hosts were 'deserved' winners following a poor first-half from Patrick Vieira's side, and believes their performance showed a greater desire to secure the points.
Asked if Palace deserved a draw, the England international told Palace TV: "I'm not sure. When you start like that in a game like that at their place, then you get what you deserve. We were second best to everything, they beat us in every duel, and in every challenge.
"When you try and rally in the second half, sometimes it can be too late just like tonight. We had spells in the second half, we looked dangerous a little bit. They were really aggressive, they looked like they wanted it more than us, and they thoroughly deserved the win."
When pressed further, Guehi added: "I wouldn't say in your mind they wanted it more than us, but clearly out there on the pitch it showed. That's where it matters.
"They just wanted it, the crowd got behind them and they were just more aggressive than us. It's always a great atmosphere here, they've got great fans but we didn't do ourselves justice tonight. We have to learn from this and move on really quickly."
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