Everton beat Newcastle 3-1 and draw Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup

Newcastle start brightly before Everton strike

Newcastle had the better of the opening exchanges at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday, 29 October. Harvey Barnes tested Jordan Pickford with a header, and Pickford also made saves from Joe Willock and Fabian Schar. Vitalii Mykolenko made a key block to stop Jacob Ramsey's strike. Hackney should have broken the deadlock in the 20th minute, but he scuffed his shot after meeting Mykolenko's whipped cross at the near post.

The opening goal came from a defensive mistake. Tyrique George pressed Amar Dedic into a poor clearance that fell to Hackney, who slipped it to James Garner. Garner drove a low shot into the far corner in the 34th minute. Earlier, James Tarkowski had made a superb challenge to stop William Osula as he moved to shoot from close range.

Two more goals before and after the interval

Newcastle surrounded referee Farai Hallam after Harvey Barnes went down under Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's challenge in the box, but the appeals were waved away. Hallam played advantage when Jacob Ramsey fouled Dewsbury-Hall, and Hackney doubled the lead in the 45th minute. Thierno Barry made it 3-0 in the 69th minute, picking his spot inside the box from Dewsbury-Hall's cross. Dan Burn headed a consolation for Newcastle in the 88th minute, too late to change the result. The defeat ends Newcastle's hopes of retaining the trophy they won in 2025.

Grealish out and a thin squad

Jack Grealish was left out of the Everton side after a breach of club discipline, an unauthorised absence from training. The Friedkin Group, which owns the club, wants to sell, and investment in the squad has dried up. At the end of the summer transfer window the club accepted a £35m bid from Nottingham Forest for midfielder Harrison Armstrong. Everton are left with Thierno Barry as their only recognised striker. Barry started his second season in English football with four goals in his first two games, but he has since missed 12 big chances, the most in the Premier League this season. Brennan Johnson and Jack Grealish also need to contribute more from wide areas.

Carabao Cup draw and the trip to Fleetwood

The fourth round win sends Everton into the next round of the competition, which they have never won. The draw paired Liverpool with Bournemouth, Crystal Palace with Sunderland and Manchester City with Bradford City, the third tier club. Everton will play away at Fleetwood Town, who are in the fourth tier and eliminated Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday, 27 October. The matches are scheduled for the third week of December. Manchester City are the holders, and Liverpool are the competition's most successful club with 10 titles. Everton's last silverware came with the FA Cup in 1995, so the Carabao Cup remains their clearest chance of ending a long trophy drought.