Eddie Howe's savage Goodison Park 'goodbye' verdict as Newcastle United set for £83m boost

VAR played a big role in the match by disallowing an Everton goal scored by Abdoulaye Doucoure for offside before awarding Newcastle a penalty in the first half. Gordon stepped up but was denied by his England teammate Jordan Pickford in the final match before the October international break.

Everton also had a second-half penalty shout turned down as VAR did not intervene with referee Craig Pawson’s on-field decision as the match ended 0-0.

Here are five talking points from the game...

Eddie Howe names unchanged starting line-up - Newcastle United’s strongest XI (almost)

For the first time this season Eddie Howe named an unchanged starting line-up in the Premier League. Following last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, Howe kept the midfield trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali with a front three of Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon leading the line in the absence of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.

Nick Pope and the four defenders in front of him, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Lewis Hall, put in Newcastle’s most assured and comfortable defensive performance of the season as they kept their first league clean sheet since the opening weekend.

Based on the last two performances, Howe seems to have established Newcastle’s strongest backline and midfield three. But a lack of goals shows where the issues lie.

The Magpies’ lack of cutting edge in attack is no small part down to their two established senior strikers, Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson being unavailable.

“My belief is we would have had a better chance with them,” Howe admitted after the game. Wilson has been absent since pre-season while Isak has missed the last three matches in all competitions.

But the £83m attacking duo are due back after the international break, which will be a welcome boost for Howe’s side.

Anthony Gordon frustration

Gordon led the line for Newcastle but was in for a frustrating evening against his former club with the penalty miss and a late chance squandered. It’s the third time the 23-year-old has returned to Goodison Park as a Newcastle player and although it was a game to forget for him for obvious reasons, this was the most involved and impactful he’s been across the three matches.

Outside of the box, Gordon was fearless in possession, showing good energy and tenacity to make himself a nuisance for Everton to try and deal with. Inside the box and taking chances is ultimately what a striker - which Gordon was on this occasion - will be judged on but there were still positives to take from his performance.

And Howe admitted as such after the game.

“Naturally he'll be disappointed,” said the Newcastle boss. “It was a much better performance from him today than last year so I thought he dealt with the occasion today really well. Tactically he gave them a problem going deep and he did really well.

“He had his moments and had a chance at the end of the game as well but his overall performance was very good. Anyone can miss a penalty and we absolutely support him, he's been incredible for us but I thought today was a positive game for him.”

Big penalty calls for Newcastle United and Everton

Gordon’s missed penalty came about following a VAR check after Sandro Tonali was pulled to the ground by Everton defender James Tarkowski. The incident was missed by the referee in real time but was overturned following a VAR consultation.

Both Howe and Everton boss Sean Dyche agreed that it was the correct decision to award the penalty after the match. But opinions were more divided when it came to a penalty shout for The Toffees in the second half.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin went down after clashing with Burn inside the penalty area. Nothing was given and VAR refrained from intervening.

Howe said afterwards that he felt Burn stood his ground, an opinion shared with VAR and the Premier League - who explained via its Match Centre account on X that Calvert-Lewin had kicked Burn when attempting to shoot rather than the Newcastle defender committing a foul.

But Dyche felt somewhat aggrieved that the incident wasn’t scrutinised further as he said: “The thing can’t work out, I see so many weak penalties and then you see that. He’s clearly tried to swipe the ball at goal.

“Their lad, I don’t think he can even reach it and interrupts him striking at goal - let’s say he’s going to score.

“They don’t even look at it. At least have a look at it!”

Goodison Park goodbye & Eddie Howe’s honest but savage response

For Newcastle, the match marked their 30th and final Premier League visit to Goodison Park.

Away at Everton hasn’t exactly been a happy hunting ground for The Magpies over the years as they’ve only come away with three Premier League points on seven occasions - winning just two of their last 13 visits.

And Howe, a boyhood Everton fan, gave a nod to some tough results at Everton when asked if he’d miss Goodison Park.

“Probably not,” he replied. “Not from our games against them here! It’s a difficult ground to come to.

“We’ve won and lost here, and what I will say is the Everton supporters create a great atmosphere for their team so it’s a difficult place to play. But looking forward to, if I’m still Newcastle manager, going [to the new stadium] next season.”

Eddie Howe joins exclusive Premier League group of managers

The match may not have been one for the history books but it saw Eddie Howe reach the milestone of managing 300 Premier League matches, becoming one of only 20 managers to reach that figure.

He joins former Newcastle managers Rafa Benitez, Joe Kinnear, Alan Pardew and Steve Bruce in the 20-man list which is led by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on 828 matches.

Reflecting on the milestone, Howe said: “I had no idea until I was told earlier. I don’t keep count of games.

“For me, it is always about the team, individual stuff is irrelevant but the thing that struck me upon hearing it was I am the 20th manager to do that so it just goes to show how quickly time goes and we’ve all got to try and enjoy every moment.”