Newcastle United have moved up to third and defeated a fellow Premier League outfit in a penalty shootout in the space of just a few days. All without even being at their best.
Wednesday night's win against Crystal Palace was just the third time in history that Newcastle had prevailed on spot-kicks in a major competition and, clearly, the club's fortunes are changing. This was a night, after all, where Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea were all knocked out of the Carabao Cup as the draw opened up.
However, Newcastle would not have even been in the hat for the fourth round without goalkeeper Nick Pope, who, again, kept his place in a much-changed side as one of the few untouchables on the pitch. Following a goalless 90 minutes, the Newcastle number one stepped up to deny Luka Milivojevic, Jean-Philippe Mateta and, finally, Malcolm Ebiowei in a dramatic 3-2 shootout win.
