Rafa Benitez heaps praise on Newcastle duo Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon

Rafa Benitez heaped praise on Newcastle strikers Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon, saying the duo deserve more credit for their outstanding contributions.

Benitez's men staged a remarkable second-half fightback from 2-0 down against Everton with Rondon (65) and a Perez double (81, 84) blitzing a crumbling Everton defence.

The win - Newcastle's fifth in a row at home - takes them to the brink of Premier League safety as they move six points clear of the drop zone and Benitez thinks the quality of the Toon's goals deserves greater recognition.

He said: "The first goal - if Messi did this - people would be talking about that for a while. He [Perez] did really well.

"If Alan Shearer scored the goal Rondon did it would be talked about for a long time."

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On Benitez's three-year anniversary as boss, Newcastle fell two behind at the break as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison put Everton in control.

However, Newcastle looked a team full of confidence as they roared back to claim all three points.

"Normally I say to the players stay calm at half time, score one goal and get back into the game," Benitez said.

"In the first half we had chances to score but they scored two goals.

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"We changed the shape of the team - with Ritchie on the right and four at the back.

"We were winning more second balls in the second half.

"The players deserve to win these five games [in a row at home]."

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