Delight will have been tinged with bewilderment for Eddie Howe as Newcastle finally found the route to victory on the road in the Premier League this season. Newcastle were superb as they routed Everton, scoring more goals in one devastating evening than in their previous seven away games combined. He may rightly question why it has taken so long for this punishing form to materialise.
Newcastle had taken the lead in their three previous away fixtures and lost them all. There would be no lapses on this occasion. A ruthless display, aided and abetted by some dreadful Everton defending, ensured a first Premier League away win since the trip to Leicester on 7 April was effectively secure by half-time.
Nick Woltemade’s tidy feet and the pace of Anthony Elanga hurt Everton whenever they took possession. The pair combined 20 seconds after kick-off when Woltemade released the winger clear of Vitalii Mykolenko and Jordan Pickford was forced to tip Elanga’s low drive around a post.
From the resulting corner, delivered superbly by Lewis Miley, Newcastle centre-half Malick Thiaw rose between James Tarkowski and Michael Keane to open the scoring with a close-range header. At 55 seconds, the Germany international’s goal was the fastest in the Premier League this season, beating Phil Foden’s 59-second effort for Manchester City against Leeds earlier in the day.
