Alan Shearer’s brutal Newcastle United verdict from Everton defeat

Alan Shearer never felt like Newcastle United were going to score against 10-man Everton.

Eddie Howe’s side drew a blank for the second game in a row - both of which have ended in 1-0 defeats at Chelsea and Goodison Park.

The Magpies gained a one-man advantage on 83 minutes when Brazilian midfielder Allan was sent off for a late challenge on substitute Allan Saint-Maximin.

However, Newcastle failed to capitalise, and instead lost the game after Alex Iwobi’s stoppage time winner.

“They didn’t do enough in the second-half,” Shearer told Amazon Prime. “They had one effort through Joe Willock when Everton went down to 10 men and [Asmir] Begovic saved it.

“Other than that, I didn’t think they were ever going to score.

“They were just lacking in quality, they didn’t make the pitch big enough. They didn’t move the ball quick enough when Everton went down to 10 men.

“Very much like Everton, they were lacking in quality in key areas.”

Meanwhile, Shearer didn’t believe Allan’s cynical foul on Saint-Maximin was worthy of a red card.

Indeed, referee Craig Pawson initially awarded a yellow card before changing his mind when he reviewed the decision at the VAR pitchside monitor.

Shearer added: “The sending off, I didn’t agree with but it probably worked for them because it galvanised them. They got behind the ball and didn’t shirk any tackles.

“They stuck together, didn’t cave in and got such an important win for them.

“I didn’t think it was a red card, I think Craig Pawson is 10 yards behind, he has such a clear view of it. I wanted him to go over to the monitor and go you know what, I got my decision right.

“It was a strong yellow card but that is an absolute howler for the VAR to say you’ve made such a terrible error, you’ve got to overturn that. I thought it was very harsh.”