Everton Eye European Spots After Thriller At Newcastle

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Everton boosted hopes of reaching European places with a dramatic Premier League win over Newcastle United at St. James' Park, moving within five points of sixth-place Chelsea and prompting defender Jarrad Branthwaite to challenge teammates to keep believing in a European push.

That ambition builds on Everton’s strong away record this season. Only Arsenal, with 29 points, have earned more Premier League points on the road than Everton’s 24, while since David Moyes' first away game back in charge in January last year, no team has collected more away league wins than Everton, who now have 12.

The victory in Newcastle featured a sequence of momentum swings. Branthwaite opened the scoring with a first Premier League goal since April 2024, then Jacob Ramsey and Beto traded goals before half-time, Jacob Murphy struck an equaliser late on, and Thierno Barry replied just 74 seconds later with the decisive goal.

Underneath the drama, Everton’s attacking numbers were strong. The side produced an expected goals figure of 2.1, their second-highest of the league campaign and behind only the 2.9 registered against Bournemouth earlier in the month, helping underline why Everton left Tyneside with three points.

Branthwaite spoke openly after full-time about chasing a European place. That's our aim, said the defender. We want to be in Europe, and we've got to pick up points. Why not believe? It's a massive win. We knew coming here was going to be difficult, but we had to get a result. We dug in, and then the way we bounced back from conceding.

The defender also praised Jordan Pickford for a decisive intervention in stoppage time. Newcastle almost forced a third equaliser when Sandro Tonali met a late cross with a firm volley, but Pickford reacted sharply and touched the ball onto the crossbar, preserving Everton’s narrow advantage.

The best save I've ever seen, I don't know how he has pulled it off, added Branthwaite. We know how much of a top goalkeeper he is. When he does things like that, it's magic; he's kept us in the game at the end of the day.

Key away numbers underline how important these performances are for Everton’s season and their European hopes.

Branthwaite highlighted that away form has become a core strength under David Moyes. It's been a big part of our game this season, playing away from home, said Branthwaite. We need to change that to the home form, and we can push right up the table, so we've got to keep going the way we are.

Everton now sit five points behind Chelsea, who face Arsenal on Sunday, and the combination of resilient away form, key contributions from Branthwaite, Barry and Pickford, and improving attacking metrics keeps the European places within realistic reach if similar performances carry over into home matches.