Alex Iwobi came off the bench to bag an assist but it wasn’t enough to stop Everton from losing back-to-back games in the Premier League as the Toffees fell to Newcastle United at St James Park on Sunday.

With regular starter Richarlison suspended for the encounter many had expected Nigerian international Iwobi to start in his place but manager Carlo Ancelotti opted to start him on the bench.

The decision proved costly as a listless and tepid Everton side devoid of any creativity missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as Callum Wilson scored two second half goals to give Newcastle a first win in three matches.

After an uneventful first half, the game sprung to life after the interval as Newcastle who had taken a solitary point from their last two games opened scoring through Wilson who converted a penalty he had won after being fouled by Andre Gomes.

Ancelotti threw on Iwobi in the 77th minute as the Toffees looked to salvage an equaliser but it was the Geordies who doubled their lead with Wilson scoring once again this time from Ryan Fraser’s looping cross.

Iwobi’s centre then diverted into the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who halved the deficit in added time but the late goal was not enough to prevent Ancelotti from losing consecutive league games for the first time since September 2014, when he was in charge of Real Madrid.

The result means Everton remain second, three points behind Liverpool, while the Magpies move up to 10th.