Newcastle dropped more points on the road in Merseyside, as a stalemate with Everton ensured they would not end the day in the top four.

Anthony Gordon's penalty miss will take the headlines, but in truth, it was a lacklustre display away from the North-East, yet again for the Magpies, who have only won one of their first four away games to the start of the season, not ideal for a team wanting to be pushing for Champions League football.

Eddie Howe selected the same starting XI that earned a well-deserved 1-1 draw at St James Park, last weekend, where Manchester City struggled to create clear-cut chances.

It was a similar story at Goodison Park, as the hosts' attack was uninspiring, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin having a massive penalty shout turned down, after Dan Burn appeared to prevent the Englishman from turning the ball into the goal after a sharp save by Nick Pope.

The visitors' best chance did come from the penalty spot, as Anthony Gordon, visiting Goodison Park for the third time since his ugly departure from the club, had a penalty saved from former Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford.

The penalty miss summed up a miserable day in front of goal for the Englishman, who has once again been called up to the senior England squad, as he attempts to make the left-wing spot his own.

He also squandered a big chance late on, after substitute Miguel Almiron played him through, but he blazed over Pickford's bar, forcing the toon to settle for a draw.

Overall, the performance was arguably the best away from home for the Magpies this season, albeit with a very low bar, but Eddie Howe has serious issues this international break.

Handed a relatively comfortable start in the league, the only wins have been against Tottenham, Southampton and Wolves and despite there being only one defeat, the draws are increasing by the day, and points continue to be dropped.

After the international break, the games increase in magnitude, especially the first three, with the Toon hosting Brighton and Arsenal, either side of a double-fixture against Chelsea, away in the Premier League, while at home in the Carabao Cup.

Failure to pick up points in those games and Newcastle are likely to slide further down the table, and the Magpies are in desperate need of European Football, Howe could soon find his job unstable, however some calls from the fan base seem premature at this stage.

Nick Pope - 7 Pope marked his re-selection to the England team with a solid performance on the road, yet again, highlighting his significance as one of the toon's most important players.

Two saves, including an excellent push away from Calvert-Lewin's strike, ensured a rare clean sheet for the magpies, whose distribution was much better. However, his England colleague Pickford was the 'keeper' who stood out on Merseyside.

Kieran Trippier - 6.5 Trippier may be past his best years, but a vintage performance from the 33-year-old reaffirmed his position ahead of the younger Tino Livramento on the right side of defence.

Despite being dribbled past five times, he completed 61 passes, and with 92 touches, the veteran was busy throughout his 71 minutes.

Fabian Schar - 7 Another man who recently announced his international retirement, his re-introduction to the team following his suspension from matchday one, has solidified the team, even if he may have been foolish not to take the penalty of Gordon.

With 64 passes and 78 touches, one of the best-ball-playing defenders was back in top form, although his defensive side remained edgy, only winning three from eight duels.

Dan Burn - 7 The boy from Blyth was lucky not to concede a penalty when he brought down Calvert-Lewin, but the 198cm defender once again showed his worth and has filled in for the injured Sven Botman expertly, and it will take the Dutchman a lot of work to re-find his place in the team.

With 89 touches and 73 touches, the entire Newcastle defence was busy in possession, and with eight duels won out of 11, the central defender was perhaps the pick of the lot.

Lewis Hall - 6.5 Hall and Lloyd Kelly have been interchanging in that left-back role since the start of the season, but the 20-year-old may have cemented his spot with another excellent performance on Merseyside.

104 touches alone, made the Englishman busy, and despite losing the ball 21 times, he was influential in both attack and defence. A late yellow card was a slight blip on an otherwise solid performance, as the youngster keeps improving.

He may have won the penalty that gave the visitors a guilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring, but other than that, the midfielder felt sedated, and had very little influence on the rest of the game, highlighted by losing the ball 16 times.

Bruno Guimaraes - 7.5 The Brazilian was unlucky not to have opened the scoring in the first half, as his effort was cleared off the line, but the Newcastle captain was excellent in midfield, ahead of yet another gruesome international break.

Another monstrous performance however in the middle of the park, secured a clean sheet, with 90 touches of the ball, coupled with three tackles to get the Magpies back up the pitch.

Joelinton - 6.5 The other Brazilian midfielder has much improved over the last two games, since his declining form after gameweek one. His performance at Goodison Park was let down by all four of his shots heading off target, very reminiscent of the 2019-21 Joelinton.

However, after moving back into midfield, he continues to be among Newcastle's most important players, and when he plays well, the team perform much better usually. A 92% pass completion and three tackles in the middle of the pitch were the standouts.

Jacob Murphy - 6 Once again the right-winger provides a disappointing performance. In pre-season, Murphy was one of the toon's standout players but hasn't stepped up to the plate in the Premier League.

A mere 42 touches, his performance was probably highlighted by his four tackles, highlighting his lack of attacking output, with only 23 passes completed, and one successful cross.

Anthony Gordon - 5 Gordon has once again failed the Goodison test. His departure from the club in January 2022 raised eyebrows, and his reception each time remains poor.

The missed chances are obviously the standout, but overall his game was poor today. It is clear his best position is not in the centre, but Gordon took notes from his England teammate Harry Kane, and performed as a very deep forward, struggling to influence the game outside of the penalty area. S

Harvey Barnes - 5.5 Similar to Murphy, but his performances from the start are a level below his impact on the bench in recent weeks. If Alexander Isak returns after the international break, we may see Barnes back on the bench in weeks to come.

However, from the start on Merseyside, he remained quiet down the left side of the attack. He only managed 39 touches, with 18 passes, losing the ball 13 times, despite making three tackles, as part of the heavy press the Toon inflicted on the hosts.

Substitutes Miguel Almiron (62') - 6 The Paraguayan international was bright in his short cameo, setting up Gordon for what should have been a goal in the final ten minutes.

Joe Willock (69') - 6 Only managed 11 touches in over 25 minutes, in a quiet outing off the bench for the Englishman

Tino Livramento (71') - 6 Similar to Willock, the ex-Chelsea academy player managed no successful crosses and lost possession six times, but he did manage 17 passes.

Sean Longstaff (71') - 6.5 Replacing an under-part Tonali, the North-Shields-born youngster did not put a foot wrong, for the remaining 25 minutes, completing 95% of his passes, in an under-the-radar display.