Newcastle United played hosts to Everton at St. James Park in what proved to be a fascinating match-up from the get-go. The Blues of Merseyside came into this match after earning a point at Anfield. Everton welcomed back two key players from injury with Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka both fully fit to start on the bench.
Following the arrival of their new manager Sam Allardyce, the Toffees has been in excellent form, to say the least. And it showed in their play as they took an early lead through Wayne Rooney who marked his 100th appearance for the club with a goal. Big Sam stuck with his trusted 4-1-4-1 formation and it gave them the edge as the Merseyside club went into half-time 1-0 up. The Toffees defended well in the second half and secured their first Premier League away win since January.
Let’s take a look at how each Everton player fared during the match:
GK: Jordan Pickford – 6/10
He was hardly worked during the game but passed the ball well with his feet.
RB: Jonjoe Kenny – 6/10
He wasn’t able to contribute much going forward but did well to cope with the pace of Christian Atsu in the second half.
CB: Ashley Williams – 8/10
The defender was rock solid and communicated well among his team-mates. He defended valiantly at the back and finally managed to secure an away clean sheet for his efforts.
CB: Mason Holgate – 7/10
He put in a mature performance at the heart of the Toffees’ defence.
LB: Cuco Martina – 6/10
He was composed on the ball but didn’t offer much going forward.
CDM: Idrissa Gueye – 7/10
He put in a tireless shift at the centre of the park and did well to close down some of the Newcastle attacks.
CM: Morgan Schneiderlin – 7/10
The former Manchester United midfielder linked up with the defenders and successfully fed the ball to some of their attacking talents. He looked composed and passed the ball really well.
CM: Wayne Rooney – 8/10
The English striker scored the only goal of the match in his 100th appearance for Everton. After a shaky start, he got better and better as the match went on.
LM: Gylfi Sigurdsson – 7/10
He was always looking to open up the Newcastle defence with his accurate through balls. The Icelandic international was a threat for the Magpies all throughout the game.
RM: Aaron Lennon – 7/10
Another hard-working performance from the ex-Spurs winger. He bagged an assist which led up to the Rooney goal.
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 6/10
The youngster looked isolated at times but tried his best to make some runs behind the Newcastle defence.
Substitutes:
CM: Tom Davies – 5/10
He didn’t look assured after coming on.
RM: Nikola Vlašić – 5/10
He did too little to affect the game in a meaningful way.
CB: Phil Jagielka – N/A
His substitution was more about running the clock than a tactical one.
