Newcastle United entertained Everton at St. James’ Park earlier today hoping to pick a win and move up the Premier League table. The Magpies struggled to get hold of the ball in the first half and went into the half-time break with nothing to show for their efforts.
However, the Tyneside giants made a bright start after the interval and managed to grab the lead via Callum Wilson’s penalty in the 56th minute. It was Wilson who stuck again in the 84th minute to seal all three points for his team. The Toffees got a consolation goal through Dominic Calvert-Lewin in injury-time, but the contest ended 2-1 in favour of Steve Bruce’s men.
Let’s take a look at how each Newcastle player fared during the match against the Toffees.
GK: Karl Darlow – 6.5/10
The Newcastle keeper made a few solid stops and came to his side’s rescue by pulling off some important clearances as well. However, he was woeful with his ball-distribution and would be disappointed for conceding such a late goal which ruined his hopes of a clean sheet.
RB: Jacob Murphy – 6.5/10
Murphy got stuck in with a few tackles and was defensively solid during the game. He also made some energetic runs and was quite lively down the right flank.
CB: Fabian Schar – 6/10
The Magpies centre-back kept a good defensive shape inside his half but gave away the ball quite a few times throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles – 6.5/10
The English defensive ace retained possession well for his side and did enough to frustrate Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin for major periods of the game. However, his hopes of a shutout were dashed in injury-time.
CB: Federico Fernandez – 7.5/10
He was tidy when passing the ball out from the back and made a plethora of crucial clearances to help his team get over the line with all three points in the bag.
LB: Jamal Lewis – 7/10
The talented full-back didn’t give away too much defensively and was a bright presence in the opposition half. Bruce will be hoping for more of the same from him in the coming weeks.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 7/10
He made a couple of decent chances for his teammates to score and anchored the midfield well for the Magpies.
CM: Jeff Hendrick – 6/10
Hendrick worked hard in providing adequate protection for the backline but offered very little going forward.
CM: Miguel Almiron – 6.5/10
The Paraguayan speedster was lively and energetic in the attacking third. However, he ran out of gas in the second half and ended the game without a goal or an assist to his name.
ST: Callum Wilson – 8.5/10
The ex-Bournemouth striker was by far the best player on the field. He once again proved why Bruce brought him to St. James’ Park earlier this summer by producing another match-winning display at home. Wilson popped up with two second-half goals to secure the three points and deserved the man of the match award.
ST: Allan Saint-Maximin – 7/10
Saint-Maximin was a constant menace for the opposition defenders as he used his pace to create a lot of problems for them in the attacking end of the pitch.
Substitutes:
CAM: Ryan Fraser – 6/10
He offered very little after coming off the bench.
CM: Isaac Hayden – N/A
Hayden did not have enough time to make an impact.
ST: Andy Carroll – N/A
The former Liverpool striker came on to run the clock down for his side.
