Newcastle United’s poor run of form continued on Wednesday night as Sam Allardyce came back to haunt his old club.
Rafa Benitez’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Everton, making it no league victory in eight games.
The defeat leaves Newcastle just a point above the relegation zone as talk of a takeover continues to rumble on behind the scenes.
Here’s how we rated each player’s performance on Wednesday night.
Karl Darlow - 4
The Newcastle goalkeeper was at fault for Rooney’s goal and it was an uphill task for the Magpies from there on in.
DeAndre Yedlin - 6
Got forward well and tried to help out in the attack for Newcastle, but question marks still remain over his defensive capabilities.
Jamal Lascelles - 6
Benitez will be delighted to have him back in the team and his return will be a boost for everyone at the club.
Florian Lejune - 6
The former Eibar man put in an improved performance compared to recent weeks.
Javier Manquillo - 6
Dealt with the lively Vlasic reasonably well on the night.
Matt Ritchie - 7
Ritchie had perhaps Newcastle’s best chance of the game, striking the woodwork in the first half.
Mikel Merino - 7
Merino once again looked a cut above for Newcastle against Everton, but he was unable to find the killer pass.
Jonjo Shelvey - 3
Shelvey was not having a great night in general and he topped this off with a red card in the final moments of the game, reckless.
Christian Atsu - 6
Atsu offered Newcastle some much-needed width going forward. Benitez will be delighted to have him back.
Mohamed Diame - 4
Not one of Diame’s better performances in a Newcastle shirt. Offered little support to Gayle when the Magpies attacked.
Dwight Gayle - 5
Gayle was unable to provide that cutting edge for Newcastle in front of goal.
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