Everton slumped to a 2-0 loss to Newcastle who have now completed the league double over the Blues. Callum Wilson scored twice as the Magpies relieved the pressure on manager Steve Bruce with a much-needed win at Goodison after a nine-match winless run.

It was goalless in the first half with Mina coming close with a header early on and Rodriguez seeing a shot blocked by Darlow. At the other end, Pickford has only been forced into one speculative save when he pushed Callum Wilson’s header over the bar with his fingertips. Overall, Steve Bruce would have been the happier of the two managers due to his team causing Everton problems that came from simple pressing and winning individual battles.

The second half went from bad to worse for the Toffees as the same lethargic passing play continued which resulted in little to no pressure on the opposition goal. The inevitable came about when Wilson found himself free in the box from a corner yet again, proceeding to loop a fantastic header beyond Pickford’s outstretched gloves. The lackluster performance was capped off in the 93rd minute when Newcastle hit on the counter which led to Wilson calming slotting into the net to bag his brace.

Whilst the result may come as a shock to fans, it is no surprise that the Blues struggled to dominate a lesser team. The game should serve as a damning reality check that this squad lacks the depth and quality to make a serious step up into the top six. Too many players are putting in sub-par performances week in week out and consistently aiming to do “just enough”. Players like Gylfi Sigurdsson, Andre Gomes and Seamus Coleman simply can’t keep up with the standards of the premier league whilst players such as Richarlison and Alex Iwobi, who certainly have the ability, need to find some consistent form sooner rather than later.

Newcastle came with a gameplan today and executed it perfectly, mixing a blend of high pressing and a low block which caught Everton out on numerous occasions whilst also restricting chief playmaker James Rodriguez through an abundant amount of fouls. Although Newcastle and Bruce can be praised, less can be said for the referee Stuart Attwell who failed to protect the Colombian midfielder from a serious injury. He was fouled six times before a yellow card was brandished in a game that he could never really take control of due to the constant harassment from the likes of Jonjoe Shelvey and Isaac Hayden. 

Sadly another man who can’t be praised today is Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian manager got his tactics wrong as he seemingly expected the opposition to sit back and defend when in reality they pressed the Everton back four from minute one forcing them into mistakes. The decision to start Jordan Pickford, who made a glaring mistake against Leicester, Coleman and Sigurdsson was a questionable one. Another action that is bemusing was the one to only make one substitution. You would think that Davies and Gordon would help to bring some composure and positivity to a limp performance but clearly not.

A final concerning feature of the Everton lineup was the fact that the Blues only had eight of the nine possible substitutions with two of those being goalkeepers. Everton fans need to realise that the club isn’t a good footballing team and that the best matches have come against stronger opposition where the Toffees are forced into a low-block often having to play four centre backs at the back. The defense has been generally quite good this season with Keane playing at the top of his game, Mina improving game by game and Godfrey looking like a bright prospect. However the real problems lie in attack with Richarlison failing to get up the pitch to support Calvert-Lewin, who himself is going through a rough patch failing to impact the game. The squad is begging for some offensive reinforcements but with the transfer window soon to come to a close, all we are seeing are departures in the form of Cenk Tosun and Bernard.

Player Ratings:

Jordan Pickford – 6

Lucas Digne – 6

Michael Keane – 6.5 

Yerry Mina – 6

Seamus Coleman – 4

Abdoulaye Doucouré – 5 

Gylfi Sigurðsson – 3

James Rodriguez – 7 (MOTM)

Alexander Iwobi – 4

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5

Richarlison – 5

Subs:

Andre Gomes – 4