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Newcastle earned a dramatic point at Everton with two injury-time goals from substitute Florian Lejeune.
Steve Bruce’s injury-hit side looked like they were slipping towards defeat after Moise Kean scored his first goal for the club before Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubled the lead with his 12th of the season.
But as the clocked ticked into injury time, Lejeune took advantage of some slack defending at a corner to crash an overhead kick past Jordan Pickford in the 94th minute.
And Carlo Ancelotti’s side threw away what was otherwise a comfortable game by failing to clear a free-kick with French defender Lejeune taking advantage of another scramble to fire in a minute later.
It was a sensational end to a game which Everton had dominated, as Bruce’s side added to the injury-time win they earned against Chelsea on Saturday, sending their travelling supporters into delirium.
But both results spoke of the team’s resilience and never-say-die attitude as they remained seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Everton will be dismayed by how they let the game slip from their grasp after Kean produced his best performance of the season before being substituted to a standing ovation on 70 minutes.
The Toffees are 12th in the table, one of four teams, including Newcastle, who are all on 30 points.
Everton throw away positive performance
For 93 minutes, Everton looked like they were in control and had answered calls from Ancelotti to be braver, while Kean emphatically answered his manager’s hopes for a quick improvement.
Having failed to score in his previous 21 appearances, the 19-year-old was a menace alongside Calvert-Lewin, who also repaid Ancelotti’s faith in him after the Italian tipped the 22-year-old for an England place.
Kean has been through a difficult spell since he arrived on Merseyside for £25m, having been disciplined for lateness and suffering the humiliation of being a substituted substitute during Duncan Ferguson’s brief reign.
And it looked like his lean spell might continue when he somehow failed to connect with Theo Walcott’s low cross before his moment of huge relief arrived.
Gathering Bernard’s through ball, he took a poor touch, but after steadying himself, he fired under Martin Dubravka before running away to the corner flag in delight where he was greeted by Everton’s thankful supporters.
There were further chances to follow for the Italian international, but Calvert-Lewin showed his budding promise once again by making it 2-0 after collecting Lucas Digne’s pass and clipping in left-footed.
When Kean left the field, he was cheered by all four stands at Goodison Park and probably felt he had done enough to earn a third successive home win for Everton.
But Newcastle had other ideas.
Newcastle profit from Everton’s panic
In keeping with their injury-time win over Chelsea on Saturday, Newcastle spent most of the match defending, but their lack of possession had little effect on the result.
Whereas Chelsea paid for their poor finishing, Everton were far more clinical and in truth could have had several other goals as Bernard and Kean wasted good chances.
But perhaps the injury crisis which has engulfed Newcastle is galvanising Bruce’s side.
With nine players on the treatment table, which was added to by a season-ending injury to Jetro Willems on Saturday, Bruce had to play two midfielders in wing-back positions and for much of the game they were disjointed.
They had trouble containing Kean and the impressive Bernard down Everton’s left.
However, once the pair were withdrawn, Everton began to retreat.
But having failed to register a shot on target until Lejeune’s late double there was little sign of what was to come in injury time.
Newcastle merrily profited from two moments of panic in the Everton box after a performance which will otherwise give Ancelotti heart.
Man of the match – Moise Kean (Everton)
‘We keep showing determination’ – what they said
Newcastle manager Steve Bruce speaking to Match of the Day: “It’s quite remarkable. I can’t fault the players for their endeavour. Joelinton was struggling after 50 minutes; I nearly put a centre-half up front.
“We keep showing determination. We were a tired team tonight but we found a bit of energy from somewhere. When we scored Mike Dean said there are 40 seconds left – and you’re thinking ‘can we score in 40 seconds?’ We rode our luck certainly but they never gave up.
“There is a good spirit and attitude in this team – we looked tired but we played people out of position. We didn’t have much coming off the bench in terms of forward players but the attitude was fantastic.
“It’s a wacky game that’s for sure – but it’s great. It just shows you shouldn’t leave a game early.”
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti speaking to Match of the Day: “There are things in football you cannot control. We conceded without any reason but the performance was good.
“We played a fantastic game and we were unlucky but nothing changes – our Premier League continues, we have to stay focused. We were two-nil up, had opportunities to score and we played attacking football. I’m really pleased with the performance. These results are not frequent but they can happen.
“We have to stay on the game for 90 minutes but I’m not saying anything to my players. They played well and it can happen. It’s just unlucky for this game.”
Magpies celebrate late goals – the stats
- There were just 102 seconds between Newcastle’s two goals against Everton. It is also the first time in Premier League history that the Magpies have scored two goals in the 90th minute onwards in a single game.
- Everton have conceded seven goals in the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League this season, four more than any other side in the division.
- Newcastle defenders have scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season, four more than any other side in the competition.
- Seven of Lucas Digne’s nine Premier League assists have come at Goodison Park, including each of his five this season.
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the first Englishman to score 10 or more goals in a Premier League season for Everton since Wayne Rooney in 2017-18.
- At 22 years and 311 days old, Calvert-Lewin is the third-youngest Everton player to reach 100 Premier League appearances for the club after Michael Ball (21y 68d) and Ross Barkley (22y 60d).
- Everton’s Bernard has been directly involved in four goals in his 15 Premier League appearances this season (2 goals, 2 assists), as many as he recorded in 34 games in his debut campaign last season (1 goal, 3 assists).
- Moise Kean has scored his first goal for Everton with what was his 26th shot in all competitions. He’s the first Italian to score a Premier League goal for the Toffees since Alessandro Pistone in April 2002. Furthermore, he is the first Italian to score under Carlo Ancelotti in the Premier League.
What’s next?
Newcastle host Oxford United on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth round (15:00 GMT), while Everton are next in action on Saturday, 1 February in the Premier League against Watford at Vicarage Road (15:00).
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