Former Newcastle United forward Michael Owen has hailed the Magpies for weathering the early Everton stom in their 4-1 win at Goodison Park on Thursday evening.
A brace from Callum Wilson, as well as goals from Joelinton and Jacob Murphy, rendered Dwight McNeil's goal a mere consolation as United strengthened their grip on their place in the Premier League's top four.
The Magpies now have a place in next season's UEFA Champions League firmly in their grasp and Owen, who played for the club between 2005 and 2009, feels their class told despite the raucous early atmosphere from the home fans on Merseyside.
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"They were brilliant in the first 10 minutes, Everton," Owen told BT Sport. "It was a great atmosphere, they had the crowd behind them but Newcastle weathered that storm.
"Everton are in a flimsy moment whereby the fans want to get behind them but as soon as anything goes wrong they are a little bit frail. I think Newcastle preyed on that and they eventually dominated and their class told in the end.
"The first goal was always going to be important and Newcastle took the wind out of their sails by getting it."
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