Jarrad Branthwaite steals the show as Jordan Pickford redeems himself – Everton player ratings vs Newcastle
Everton secured a 3-2 win against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
Jarrad Branthwaite opened the scoring for Everton at St James’ Park on 28 February, but Jacob Ramsay got the Magpies back level.
Beto then struck from a Nick Pope error to put David Moyes‘ side back in front, but the hosts fired back in the late stages through Jacob Murphy.
Thierno Barry scored the winner for the Hill Dickinson Stadium outfit just moments after the second equaliser to secure all three points.
Jarrad Branthwaite is the star man in Everton win
Branthwaite scored the first goal of the game with a lovely header, and that was the cherry on top of a brilliant performance, where he stole the show.
The 23-year-old made a total of 10 defensive contributions in a great showing at the back, per Sofascore, which will surely have Thomas Tuchel thinking about his World Cup prospects.
The Blues academy graduate made seven clearances and attempted two tackles, with one being successful in the contest.
He also made three recoveries, one interception, and won all but one of the six duels that he contested, two on the ground and three in the air.
The England manager will have to keen an eye on the Blues star if he continues to play like this, and Moyes will be loving that he has come back and is performing so strongly after his injury woes.
- Read More: Why Everton will not get a cash boost from Anthony Gordon as Newcastle transfer latest emerges
Jordan Pickford struggles as Toffees secure victory
It was a hard-fought win for the Blues, in a tough away contest, but Jordan Pickford did not shine on his return to the North East.
The former Sunderland star was clearly feeling the pressure as he completed just 16 of his 31 pass attempts for a 52 per cent accuracy.
He did make four saves, but he was wrong-footed for the goal, albeit with a deflection off of Branthwaite that took it away from him.
The 30-year-old gave possession away 15 times, despite only having 38 touches of the ball, which was a sign of how his afternoon went.
Obviously, Moyes is not going to drop his number one goalkeeper anytime soon, but he needs him to perform better than he did on this occasion.
Pickford is usually so reliable, but he was not his usual self this time around, and he needs to bounce back in the next game.
He redeemed himself with a save of the season contender from a Sandro Tonali effort in the closing stages of the clash.
How Everton players rated vs Newcastle
Jordan Pickford – 5
Jake O’Brien – 6
James Tarkowski – 7
Jarrad Branthwaite – 8
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
Idrissa Gueye – 7
James Garner – 6
Dwight McNeil – 6 (off for Armstrong, 81)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 6 (off for Keane, 89)
Iliman Ndiaye – 6
Beto – 7 (off for Barry, 74)
Substitutes:
Thierno Barry – 7
Harrison Armstrong – 5
Michael Keane – N/A
For more on Everton, check out Football Insider for the latest news.