‘We’re not at their level’ – Moyes critical of Everton following Newcastle hammering

David Moyes believes Everton were "not at Newcastle’s level" after they were swept aside in a 4-1 defeat at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.

Newcastle struck early, with Malick Thiaw opening the scoring after just 55 seconds, before Lewis Miley doubled the advantage in the 25th minute.

Everton's day deteriorated further on the stroke of half-time as Nick Woltemade added a third, and Thiaw then claimed his second just before the hour mark to put the visitors firmly out of sight.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall netted a late consolation goal for the hosts, brilliantly controlling James Tarkowski's delivery before slotting home.

And Moyes pulled no punches in his assessment of the defeat.

"We weren't competitive. [Newcastle] outdid us physically," the Everton boss told Sky Sports.

"I thought we were competitive with the ball, but it doesn't count for anything if you can't defend corners, can't score, and give away easy goals."

The loss marked the first time the Toffees had conceded four or more goals in a Premier League home match since April 2023 – coincidentally, it was also a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle.

It was also the first time they shipped four or more under Moyes at home since November 2010, in a 4-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion.

The Scotsman conceded that while Everton recovered possession enough, they simply could not cope with their opponents' intensity.

"The second and third goals were really poor ones to concede," he continued. We had a good amount of the ball and did pretty well with it. But the biggest difference was how quickly they broke every time we risked the ball.

"They got onto our backline too quick and caused us problems we couldn't solve.

"We're not at Newcastle's level. They would have had to probably have an off night, and we'd have probably had to have a really good night to get a result."