Everton and Newcastle are level after Pickford saves Gordon's penalty | first division

It was inevitable that Anthony Gordon would feature prominently on his return to Goodison Park, but that was not how the Newcastle striker would have imagined the script. Gordon was denied from the penalty spot by his England colleague Jordan Pickford as Everton and Newcastle achieved a very entertaining goalless draw.

The former Everton striker also missed opportunities in open play as Eddie Howe's side failed to build on last weekend's impressive performance in the draw against Manchester City. They also escaped a strong Everton claim for a penalty in the second half when Dan Burn brought down Dominic Calvert-Lewin in front of goal. The video assistant referee found Calvert-Lewin guilty of the initial foul.

It was a lively and eventful first half with VAR, Pickford and, unsurprisingly, Gordon to the fore. Everton's determined start came against a backdrop of even more turmoil in their defence. Sean Dyche was able to field his strongest defense of the season against Crystal Palace last weekend as Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko returned from injury and illness respectively. a first first division The victory of the season duly came. But both returned to the treatment room a week later and, with no recognized right-back available, James Garner had to fill that role with Ashley Young switched to the left. Newcastle were unable to take full advantage in the first half, despite controlling the midfield through Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães and the pace of their attack.

Guimarães almost gave the visitors an early lead when Kieran Trippier's corner deflected off Calvert-Lewin and found the Newcastle captain unmarked at the far post. The midfielder's effort beat Pickford, but Iliman Ndiaye somehow took the ball off the line and kicked it into a corner.

Everton thought they had opened the scoring in fine style when Garner sent a superb cross into the heart of the Newcastle penalty area and Abdoulaye Doucouré headed into the top corner. Doucouré had pointed out where he wanted the ball as soon as Calvert-Lewin found the makeshift space. However, he timed his run too early and Everton's celebrations were ultimately cut short by a VAR review for offside.

VAR intervened again when James Tarkowski foolishly dragged Tonali to the ground from a Newcastle corner. Both players hugged each other before the Everton defender dragged the Italian midfielder by the neck. After an on-field review, Craig Pawson pointed out the spot to give Gordon the perfect opportunity to score for the first time against his former club and repeat his penalty success against Manchester City last weekend. Gwladys Street's men mercilessly berated their former winger when he stepped forward to take the penalty. Pickford, enduring the usual barrage from Newcastle fans for coming from Sunderland, dived left to deflect the penalty and leave Goodison in ecstasy.

Gordon's frustrations continued when he wasted a free header from Jacob Murphy's cross in first-half stoppage time. The 23-year-old, who returned to center forward in the absence of Alexander Isak, attempted to give the ball to Joelinton rather than heading towards goal himself and Everton gratefully cleared.

The England international had license to roam around Newcastle's front line and caused Everton numerous problems on the flanks in the second half. Moments after the restart, Gordon launched an inviting cross to the back post where Joelinton headed towards the incoming Tonali. Tarkowski made up for his earlier rush of blood with a vital block.

Pickford denied Newcastle substitute Miguel Almirón's goal before Idrissa Gueye cleared Tonali's header from the resulting corner. Everton's chances were limited by comparison, with Calvert-Lewin isolated, but the home side should have gone ahead when Dwight McNeil gave the centre-forward the service he craved inside the Newcastle box. Calvert-Lewin's low shot on the turn was parried away by Nick Pope. As he approached the rebound, the forward fell due to Burn's attack from behind.

It looked like a clear penalty but Pawson was unfazed and VAR ruled that Calvert-Lewin had kicked Burn's leg first. Either way, Gueye should have made the argument redundant when he reached for the loose ball first, but somehow beat an open goal from four yards.