Three Everton players were rated 9/10 by the Liverpool Echo, and that is the clearest sign from a 3-1 friendly that Newcastle's problems ran deeper than the scoreline. Tyrique George, Thierno Barry and Harrison Armstrong all reached that mark, while Armstrong also supplied two assists in a performance that stood out all night. Everton looked sharper and more organised. Newcastle looked like a side still trying to work out who should steady things when the game turns.

Everton's ratings spread

The ratings told a simple story. George scored and was threatening throughout, Barry scored after sprinting from the halfway line on 27 minutes, and Armstrong set up both of those goals before finishing with two assists. Iliman Ndiaye also converted a penalty on 36 minutes, but the attention belongs with the younger names because the rating spread was so unusual.

Tyrique George and Thierno Barry were not just good in flashes. They were both given 9/10, and Armstrong matched them. For a friendly, that is a heavy verdict on how the game looked to the eye. Everton had three players at the top end of the scale and Newcastle did not have enough around them to respond.

Newcastle's concern before Liverpool

Keith Downie did not dress it up. "That performance showed me that Newcastle desperately need some experience in that team," he said. "They have lost Kieran Trippier, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon and replaced them with youngsters. When things went wrong in this game, some of the players had no leaders to look to."

He added that Newcastle looked "more streetwise and organised" and warned of a real concern ahead of the season if they do not add experience. Of the new signings, Downie said only Lukas Horníček and Bazoumana Touré look ready to start, and he called it "a big week and a half until the window closes."

That concern sits in a wider run that has not been convincing either. Newcastle arrived with a mixed five-match league run, finished 12th in the 2025 Premier League season, and now face Liverpool's visit to St James' Park in their opening league fixture. This friendly will not decide anything on its own, but it did offer a blunt look at where Newcastle are short.

Everton, by contrast, came out of it with more than a win. They got impact from a teenager in Armstrong, a strong centre-forward showing from Barry, and one of those pre-season evenings where the ratings line up with what you saw on the pitch.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →