Everton blank New Castle 3-0

Aaron Lennon scored the game’s opening goal in the 23rd minute, while Ross Barkley notched a brace with two penalty conversions after the 88th minute. 

The pair each drew one of the two late penalties to seal the deal and proved to be too much for Newcastle to handle throughout the contest. 

The Toffees will try to build on the momentum from this game on Saturday in a match up against a Stoke City side still licking its wounds after losing 3-0 to Manchester United. Meanwhile, Chelsea could only manage a scoreless draw at Watford in a game highlighted by a brief scrap between Diego Costa and Juan Carlos Paredes that resulted in a short stoppage and yellow cards for the pair but was ultimately much ado about nothing. 

The Blues remain undefeated under Guus Hiddink (three wins, five draws in Premier League play), though they don’t look like a club playing up to its immense potential, either.