With the game between Newcastle United and Everton locked goalless heading into the final 15 minutes of normal time, not many people would have predicted the scoreline upon the referee's whistle to signal the end of the game last night.

Everton came away with an emphatic 3-0 victory in front of their own fans, moving out of the relegation zone, having now accumulated more points in the Premier League than Chelsea. That's if it wasn't for their deduction, however.

On the other hand, Newcastle will be devastated by how the game ended. The Magpies looked second-best throughout the match and head coach Eddie Howe will be disappointed with some of his players' performances on the night, particularly Kieran Trippier who has been so reliable since joining the club almost two years ago.

Kieran Trippier's stats vs Newcastle

Trippier moved to St. James' Park back in 2021, following a title-winning venture in La Liga with Atletico Madrid. The Magpies were getting a "defensive animal", according to England boss Gareth Southgate and he certainly wasn't wrong as the fullback has been sensational since joining the Geordie outfit and has been Newcastle's second-highest-rated player this season, as per Sofascore, with an average rating of 7.55.

However, the Three Lions international will want to forget his display at Goodison as soon as possible. No player made more passes during the game than Trippier, but the 33-year-old also made most errors leading to a goal on the pitch with two.

It was Trippier's careless control that allowed Dwight McNeil to nick the ball and smash it past Martin Dubravka into the net to open the scoring a seal the three points.

Just a few minutes later, Trippier played the ball straight to Jack Harrison who crossed it low across the box for Abdoulaye Doucoure to fire home the second, before eventually playing Beto onside as Everton wrapped up the game in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Trippier won 71% of his ground duels and aerial duels and created two opportunities for Newcastle throughout proceedings, as per FotMob, but his massive helping hand in gifting the hosts all three points cannot be brushed under the carpet.

However, there was one player who was arguably as bad as the ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender in Merseyside.

Miguel Almiron's performance in numbers

While Trippier stuck out like a sore thumb during the closing stages of the game, one man who did anything but stick out was Miguel Almiron. The Paraguay international was handed a 4/10 match rating by The Shields Gazette, who felt that the winger was "guilty of some questionable decision-making".

The 29-year-old had three shots on goal against the Toffees and recorded 0.54 of Newcastle's total 1.58 xG throughout proceedings, but he failed to convert a single opportunity, including a gilt-edged chance in the 82nd minute which would have levelled the game for the visitors.

Almiron also lost possession of the ball 12 times at Goodison Park, missed two big chances, lost 67% of his total take-ons and failed to create a single opportunity for his teammates who left the field without even a goal to show for their efforts.

The forward has now scored merely two goals in 15 Premier League appearances this term, with his last goal coming at the end of September in a 2-0 win over Burnley. The Paraguayan is now on an eight-game dry spell in the league for the Mags and may have played himself out of the starting lineup with his performance last night.