After a positive start from Everton, Callum Wilson gave Newcastle the lead with his 12th goal of the season against the run of play. Everton thought they had equalised on the stroke of half-time as Dominic Calvert-Lewin dinked the ball over Nick Pope only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.
Newcastle were denied a penalty following a VAR check on a tackle from James Tarkowski on Sean Longstaff inside the penalty area.
Joelinton then doubled The Magpies’ advantage after some fine work from Joe Willock set the Brazilian up to head in his eighth goal of the season.
Wilson then put the result beyond doubt with a stunning curling effort from outside the box to make it 3-0 with 15 minutes remaining.
Dwight McNeil then pulled back a consolation for Everton with a goal directly from a corner before Jacob Murphy responded instantly to restore the three goal advantage following an incredible run from Alexander Isak.
Fabian Schar then thought he’d made it 5-1 with another excellent finish from distance but VAR ruled the goal out for offside against Dan Burn in the build-up.
The comfortable win tightens Newcastle’s grasp on the top four as they moved eight points clear of fifth with a game in hand.
Here are the player ratings from the match...
5. Matt Targett - 6
Looked like he was still getting back up to pace with things after his first Premier League start since September. Booked after being out-paced by Alex Iwobi. | Getty Images
6. Bruno Guimaraes - 7
Looked a little sluggish in the first half but composed himself after the break to help Newcastle see out the win. Photo: Stu Forster
7. Sean Longstaff - 7
A couple of sloppy passes in the early stages of the match but improved considerably as the game progressed to put Newcastle on the front foot. Was unlucky not to have won a penalty in the second half. | Getty Images
8. Joe Willock - 7
Let down by a couple of heavy touches in the first half but quickly got involved in the second with a decent chance which was well blocked by James Tarkowski. Almost scored a goal of the season contender only for Jordan Pickford to tip it around the post before brilliantly setting up Joelinton to make it 2-0. | AFP via Getty Images