City back on top; Newcastle replace Sunderland in relegation after Palace thrashing

Steve McClaren’s difficult week ended in a 5-1 thrashing at Crystal Palace as Newcastle dropped into the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

There were angry words on the Newcastle training ground this week following the 3-0 home defeat to Leicester, but it looked as if they had cleared the air when Papiss Cisse’s first goal since the opening day of the season gave the visitors a 10th-minute lead.