Malick Thiaw’s first-minute opener – the fastest goal scored in the Premier League this season – set them on their way, with Lewis Miley and Nick Woltemade also scoring in the first half.
Thiaw scored his second goal of the night in the second half when he headed home from Lewis Hall’s cross, and while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall claimed a consolation goal for Everton, Newcastle’s victory lifted them to 11th position in the table and took them to within a point of seventh-placed Brighton.
**AWAY THE LADS**
Finally, the wait for Newcastle’s first Premier League away win of the season is over. For the first time since April, the Magpies have claimed a domestic victory on their travels.
Having lost after going ahead in each of their last three away games, Howe’s side desperately needed to deliver a performance that proved they were not easy touches on the road. This did that – and then some.
Newcastle were brilliant at Everton’s shiny new Hill Dickinson Stadium – well-organised at the back, aggressive and committed in the tackle, and lightning-sharp on the counter-attack as they repeatedly ripped the home side’s defence to shreds.
When the Magpies have been at their best under Howe, this has been their template away from home. Press aggressively, then sweep forward attacking in numbers. It was too much for an Everton side that shut out Manchester United with ten men at Old Trafford on Monday, with the home team unable to cope with the relentless nature of Newcastle’s attacking.
The timing of the Magpies’ away improvement could not have been any better, given that their next Premier League away trip takes them to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland. The most eagerly-awaited Wear-Tyne derby for quite some years could not have been set up any better.
**RAMSDALE STARTS – AND IMPRESSES**
Prior to kick-off, there was a lot of debate over whether Eddie Howe would drop Nick Pope in the wake of the goalkeeper’s error in Marseille in midweek.
In the end, the decision was taken out of his hands with Pope deemed to be unavailable because of a groin injury sustained in training yesterday. Pope did not feature in the squad; Aaron Ramsdale stepped up to take his place and make his first league start since joining Newcastle from Southampton in the summer.
Ramsdale has had to be patient as he has waited for his first chance in the league, and will have been justifiably satisfied with his performance on Merseyside. He made a couple of decent saves, commanded his area effectively off set-pieces and had no chance with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s second-half consolation goal.
His distribution is generally regarded to be superior to that of Pope, and it was telling that it was his throw to Tino Livramento that sparked the length-of-the-pitch move that ended with Woltemade chipping Jordan Pickford for Newcastle’s third goal.
**FRESH FACES STAR**
Pope wasn’t the only notable absentee from Newcastle’s starting line-up, with Howe making five changes from the side that started Tuesday’s Champions League defeat in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome.
The Magpies’ schedule means there will have to be changes pretty much all the way through December, but it was still something of a surprise to see Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy all sitting on the bench this evening.
Lewis Miley started in midfield instead of Tonali, playing between Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, while Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga filled the wide positions, with Nick Woltemade restored to the starting line-up as the central striker. By half-time, it was obvious the changes were working a treat.
Miley was superb at the heart of midfield, more than justifying his promotion to the starting side with some purposeful running and razor-sharp passing. His second goal, a shot from the edge of the area that squirmed through Jordan Pickford’s grasp, was the icing on the cake.
A word too for Elanga, who has had his critics during the first few months of his Newcastle career, but who was a constant attacking threat down Newcastle’s right. The £55m summer signing helped set up Miley’s goal with a break down the flank, and was the architect of the Magpies’ third goal just before half-time, breaking onto Livramento’s pass before shuffling the ball infield for Woltemade, who lofted a superb chipped finish over Pickford.
**FULL-BACKS KEY AGAIN**
What a difference the return of Livramento and Lewis Hall has made. The full-back duo played together in the starting side for only the third time this season and were major factors in Newcastle’s success.
Time and time again they burst forward to join in their side’s attacks, creating a numerical overload in the final third as they proved pretty much impossible for Everton’s midfielders to contain.
The pair combined midway through the first half in a move that ended with Hall’s deflected shot looping off the crossbar, before Livramento sent Elanga away down the touchline shortly before half-time in the move that ended with Woltemade scoring. Hall claimed his assist just before the hour mark in the second half, swinging over the cross that Thiaw headed home to claim his second goal of the game.
Understandably, Howe has been cautious in restoring both players to the starting XI, trying to reduce the risk of either suffering an injury recurrence. Asking either to play three games in a week at the moment might be difficult, even with Kieran Trippier set to be sidelined for around a month, but there is no doubt that Newcastle look a completely different proposition when Livramento and Hall are both playing.