Everton experienced one of football’s ultimate highs on Monday night when beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford despite playing most of the game with 10 men.
Their mood soured inside the opening minute here, when after Jordan Pickford initially denied Anthony Elanga, Malick Thiaw popped up to head home from the resulting corner.
David Moyes’ men were all over the place in the opening stages and had Michael Keane to thank for not falling even further behind when his last-ditch block prevented Harvey Barnes scoring what would’ve been a certain second.
Moyes’ side were way below the desired level for the entire half, but they gave the visitors a huge helping hand when they doubled their lead.
Tino Livramento’s initial strike bounced around inside the area, and when it fell favourably for Lewis Miley, his wild swing was straight at Jordan Pickford but he could only flap at the ball and direct it into the corner.
Things got even worse for the Toffees before the break, when on the stroke of half time, Elanga got free in behind, found Nick Woltemade and he coolly lifted over Pickford and into an empty net.
A chorus of boos greeted the half-time whistle at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and a 3-0 deficit even prompted some disgruntled supporters to head for the exits.
Introducing Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the restart went to show just how disappointed Moyes was with their first-half display, but his change almost paid immediate dividends when his half-time substitute absolutely thundered an effort against the crossbar.
Barnes missing a one-on-one was a warning sign that Newcastle weren’t finished for the day, but it was one Everton didn’t heed as Lewis Hall’s delivery was powered home at the far post by Thiaw for his second of the evening.
Everton were able to pull a goal back through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the latter stages after Thierno Barry had had a goal chalked off for handball, but it was always likely to be a consolation goal either way.
Newcastle had the luxury of making changes in the closing stages with the game won, and Eddie Howe will hope this result is a platform to put some torrid away form behind them.
It’s a poor day for Everton though, who fell to their heaviest defeat at their new stadium and were dealt a huge reality check after Monday night’s high.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United)