Newcastle United vs Everton. Premier League.
St James' Park, Newcastle.
Report and free match highlights as Jordan Pickford dropped for Everton in defeat at St James' Park; Callum Wilson found the net twice
Wednesday 4 November 2020 13:17, UK
Everton missed the chance to go top of the Premier League as their lack of squad depth was showcased in a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle.
Steve Bruce's side exploited the Toffees' lack of strength in depth without Lucas Digne, Richarlison, James Rodriguez and Seamus Coleman as Callum Wilson scored a second-half double (58 and 84).
Wilson's first came from the penalty spot after Andre Gomes clumsily fouled the striker before the former Bournemouth man wrapped up the points by finishing off a counter-attack, spearheaded by Ryan Fraser. Dominic Calvert-Lewin set up a grandstand finish with a neat finish (90) but it only proved to be a consolation.
Carlo Ancelotti, who decided to drop Jordan Pickford in place of Robert Olsen in goal, has now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time as Everton boss.
All eyes were on the on-loan Roma goalkeeper in Pickford's absence and he stepped up to the plate to deny Allan Saint-Maximin from the only clear opening in the first 45 minutes. Newcastle stood firm from a corner and attacked with Miguel Almiron and Wilson, who slipped in a perfect ball for Saint-Maximin to gallop onto but Olsen was out very quickly to narrow the angle and block the ball away.
Everton took 38 minutes to register their first shot at goal - a weak effort from Abdoulaye Doucoure - in a very disjointed performance where the decision to play five central midfielders clearly backfired as Calvert-Lewin was incredibly isolated.
It was a half of football that Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane summed up as "Pretty boring really." It was hard to argue.
The tempo did increase after the break with Calvert-Lewin seeing more of the ball - his header back across goal sat nicely for Gylfi Sigurdsson but he did not catch the finish with his usual crispness. Newcastle were also playing considerably higher up the pitch, and they got their reward within 11 minutes of the restart after Gomes fouled Wilson as he attempted to clear Sean Longstaff's near-post corner.
After some shenanigans with Yerry Mina before the taking of the kick, that led to Wilson being booked, the striker stepped up to send Olsen the wrong way from the spot and it would have been 2-0 within two minutes had the Swede not produced a fine reaction save to turn over Longstaff's close-range strike.
The game opened up as the Toffees pressed for an equaliser. Calvert-Lewin met Sigurdsson's free-kick with a clever back header but it was straight at Karl Darlow while Michael Keane headed over as set-pieces remained Everton's best route to goal.
From open play, they lacked imagination and Newcastle looked to have wrapped it up six minutes from time when substitute Fraser surged into space on the left and his deflected cross was turned home by Wilson to score his sixth of the season.
However, Calvert-Lewin's injury-time strike - his 12th of the season - made for a tense conclusion during which a back-pedalling Darlow had to tip Bernard's looping effort over.
The £20m forked out for the England striker is looking like money well spent by Steve Bruce. Newcastle now have a focal point to their attack and someone with pace, power and an ability to finish. It's been long overdue at St James' Park. Bruce's boys had to do plenty of defending but always carried a threat with Wilson holding the ball well and making big game-changing moments. Newcastle strikers combined scored six goals between them last season, Wilson has already matched that with just seven games under his belt.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce: "We knew it would be a battle against one of the great managers. He has had a few problems with injuries but I couldn't be more pleased. We deserved it.
"I don't know where we got six minutes from at the end.
"They threw everything at us and the goal makes it edgy. We're trying to do things a different way and be more expansive but it is a work in progress. We have to do what is best for the team. They are comfortable at the moment.
"When you play a good team tactically you have to be right. It wasn't much of a spectacle in the first half but once we got the goal... all in all it is a good day's work for us."
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti: "It was not a good performance, we knew this. It was important to avoid mistakes, not give them the opportunity to go 1-0 up, and the game is changed when we give them the penalty. After that the game was difficult and complicated.
"The performance of Olsen was good, like usual, He's a good goalkeeper with experience, he was in good control of the game."
Newcastle will be back in action on Friday Night Football against Southampton, live on Sky Sports, kick-off at 8.00pm. Meanwhile, Everton are at home to Manchester United on Saturday, kick-off 12.30pm.
