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Lee Ryder

Rafa Benitez pinpoints his biggest frustration after Newcastle United's defeat to Crystal Palace

Rafa Benitez admits he is still in shock that Newcastle United somehow managed to lose their clash with Crystal Palace.

The Magpies find themselves back in the relegation battle and have added pressure on themselves ahead of Friday's trip to Leicester City.

Benitez was annoyed by DeAndre Yedlin's decision to dive in on Wilfried Zaha at the Leazes End with 10 minutes left - not least after sitting the players down to watch videos of the winger's ability to collapse in the box after contact.

After the defeat he said: "It's a game we can't believe we lost.

"With the chances we had and the control we had, we made too many mistakes in the last minutes.

"We had enough chances to win the game.

"These are the kind of games that leave you very disappointed.

"Every game is a final and every game we will try to get three points."

Benitez felt his players should have at least shown the know-how to emerge with a point.

He said: "We had a lot of chances and lots of shots on goal but this is sometimes the kind of game you cannot win but it is important not to lose.

"The most difficult one is the final third.

"We pushed and we attacked but we didn't control the counter-attack the way we should have done."

Former Newcastle winger Florian Thauvin launches astonishing rant about his 'rubbish' Marseille side  

Crystal Palace 'dealt with' Newcastle's attacking threat & were 'constantly dangerous': Roy Hodgson  

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