Everton maintained their outstanding away form and reignited their European ambitions with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at a sodden St James' Park, settled by Thierno Barry's late winner and sealed by a stunning stoppage-time save from Jordan Pickford. In a breathless contest, David Moyes's side twice surrendered parity only to reclaim the lead within moments, leaving the home crowd stunned and Newcastle's league season in further disarray.
Jarrad Branthwaite's deft header gave Everton an early lead, only for Jacob Ramsey's heavily deflected strike to haul Newcastle level before the interval. A glaring error from Nick Pope immediately allowed Beto to restore the visitors' advantage, and although substitute Jacob Murphy volleyed Newcastle level again eight minutes from time, Barry responded almost straight from the restart. When Sandro Tonali met a stoppage-time volley sweetly, an equaliser seemed certain, but Pickford's acrobatic intervention preserved a result that lifted Everton to eighth while extending Newcastle's alarming slump.
Everton seize control against a disjointed Newcastle side
The backdrop to this game was Newcastle's contrasting fortunes at home and abroad. Eddie Howe's team had just booked a glamour Champions League tie against Barcelona by easing past Qarabag in midweek, yet they came into this fixture with only one win in six league games and a mounting defensive crisis. Howe made six changes from that European victory and shuffled his pack in search of fresh energy, pushing Anthony Gordon into a central striker role against his former club, deploying Nick Woltemade in an unfamiliar attacking midfield berth and shunting Joelinton out to the left.