Everton beat Newcastle to climb out of drop zone
Everton scored three times in the final 11 minutes of a hectic encounter to beat Newcastle and move out of the Premier League's relegation zone.
The Toffees were sent tumbling into the bottom three by their 10-point deduction for breaking the top flight's financial rules, but moved back into safety thanks to late goals from Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and summer signing Beto.
The hosts punished a pair of mistakes from Kieran Trippier, the first coming as McNeil pounced on a poor touch, drove forward and thumped a deflected effort into the net, before Doucoure coolly slotted home seven minutes later.
Beto then ran clear during 10 minutes of stoppage time and slid home his first league goal to make sure of the points as the home supporters wildly celebrated a deserved victory.
Before the late flurry, the Blues looked to be heading for a miserable night in front of goal having spurned a number of good chances in the opening period.
The returning Dominic Calvert-Lewin was unable to convert the best of those, controlling Jarrad Branthwaite's flick on onto his chest and volleying over from four yards out.
Newcastle had openings in the first half too but Trippier's free-kick and Miguel Almiron's scuffed effort after darting through were both kept out by Jordan Pickford.
In the second half the returning Anthony Gordon, who was jeered by the home supporters throughout the game following his January transfer to Newcastle, should have silenced the Goodison crowd when he picked off James Tarkowski's loose touch on the edge of the area but only stuck a low shot straight at Pickford.
Those three late goals mean the Toffees claw themselves out of the drop zone by leapfrogging Luton into 17th place, while Newcastle remain seventh behind Manchester United.
Everton out of bottom three 'psychologically massive'How did you rate Everton's performance? Have your say hereWhat did you make of Newcastle's display? Send us your views hereEverton turn the tide on home formEverton would have moved into 10th place with this result had they not been sanctioned by the Premier League, which would have meant fans were dreaming of European qualification rather than worrying about a relegation battle.
The Toffees' form at Goodison Park this season had been woeful before the Magpies' arrival on Merseyside, with Sean Dyche's men having won just one of their seven previous home games.
But they put that record right in emphatic fashion here.
Calvert-Lewin was wasteful in front of goal in the first half, seeing a header and low shot saved by Martin Dubravka before a glorious chance was smashed high into the Park End.
But the hosts kept plugging away in a stop-start contest, hitting three goals late on to secure their fourth win in their last six games.
McNeil's thumper and Doucoure's calm finish brought much-needed joy to the home faithful, and the atmosphere had become raucous before Beto's composed finish added gloss to a well-earned victory.
There will be some concern for Seamus Coleman, though, as the Everton skipper hobbled off during the second half on the occasion of his first start since May.
Newcastle's away despair continuesNewcastle came into this fixture on the back of an energetic victory over Manchester United on Saturday, but their wretched away form continued at Goodison.
Eddie Howe's men were without 11 first-team players through injury and have now won only one away game this season, which came in the 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.
The Magpies could have gone ahead but Tarkowski made a superb block to deny Bruno Guimaraes, while Alexander Isak sent a header from eight yards out wide of goal.
In the end, the visitors ran out of energy and suffered a further injury concern when captain Jamaal Lascelles limped off, while Gordon left the stadium with chants of 'what's the score?' ringing in his ears.
The result means Newcastle have already lost five times this campaign, the same number of times they tasted defeat in the entirety of 2022-23.
Their Champions League fate will be decided next Wednesday, when they need to beat AC Milan and hope Paris St-Germain fail to beat Borussia Dortmund in order to progress to the knockout rounds.
Player of the match
BetoBeto
with an average of 7.77
Squad number14Player nameBeto
Squad number2Player namePatterson
Squad number7Player nameMcNeil
Squad number32Player nameBranthwaite
Squad number6Player nameTarkowski
Squad number19Player nameMykolenko
Squad number16Player nameDoucouré
Squad number11Player nameHarrison
Squad number23Player nameColeman
Squad number27Player nameGueye
Squad number9Player nameCalvert-Lewin
Squad number18Player nameYoung
Squad number1Player namePickford
Squad number21Player nameLivramento
Squad number67Player nameMiley
Squad number10Player nameGordon
Squad number14Player nameIsak
Squad number7Player nameJoelinton
Squad number5Player nameSchär
Squad number1Player nameDúbravka
Squad number24Player nameAlmirón
Squad number39Player nameBruno Guimarães
Squad number6Player nameLascelles
Squad number2Player nameTrippier
Squad number11Player nameRitchie
Squad number17Player nameKrafth
Formation 4-4-1-1
1Pickford23ColemanSubstituted forPattersonat 67'minutes6Tarkowski32Branthwaite19Mykolenko18Young16Doucouré27GueyeBooked at 35mins7McNeil11Harrison9Calvert-LewinBooked at 83minsSubstituted forGomes Betuncalat 85'minutesBooked at 87minsSubstitutes2Patterson5Keane10Danjuma12Neves Virgínia14Gomes Betuncal22Godfrey28Ramalho Chermiti58Hunt61DobbinFormation 4-3-3
1Dúbravka2Trippier6LascellesSubstituted forKrafthat 90'minutes5Schär21Livramento67MileySubstituted forRitchieat 90'minutes39Bruno Guimarães7Joelinton24Almirón14Isak10GordonSubstitutes3Dummett11Ritchie17Krafth18Karius20Hall29Gillespie49Diallo54Murphy63ParkinsonReferee:Tim Robinson
Attendance:38,198
Match ends, Everton 3, Newcastle United 0.
Second Half ends, Everton 3, Newcastle United 0.
Foul by Miguel Almirón (Newcastle United).
Vitalii Mykolenko (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Everton 3, Newcastle United 0. Beto (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nathan Patterson.
Attempt missed. Alexander Isak (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Joelinton.
Substitution, Newcastle United. Matt Ritchie replaces Lewis Miley.
Substitution, Newcastle United. Emil Krafth replaces Jamaal Lascelles.
Tino Livramento (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ashley Young (Everton).
Beto (Everton) is shown the yellow card.
Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal! Everton 2, Newcastle United 0. Abdoulaye Doucouré (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Dwight McNeil.
Corner, Everton. Conceded by Fabian Schär.
Attempt blocked. Jack Harrison (Everton) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Everton. Beto replaces Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Foul by Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United).
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.