Moyes drops Grealish, Everton cruise through

Newcastle arrived at Hill Dickinson Stadium still chasing a second Carabao Cup in three seasons, and according to the Guardian they had spells of real control in the tie. It wasn't enough. Everton were the ones who took the game and the result, ending Eddie Howe's side's run and moving a round closer to Wembley.

The story of the night, though, was the team sheet. Grealish has been one of Everton's more eye-catching additions this window and his omission from the starting XI against a Premier League rival in a cup tie will get talked about far more than anything that happened in the 90 minutes themselves. Moyes didn't need to say much for it to register: dropping your most recognisable attacker for a Carabao Cup fourth round is itself the statement.

A cup run with teeth

Everton sit eighth in the Premier League after seven games, two wins and four draws giving them 10 points and a goal difference of plus one, hardly numbers that scream cup priority. But Moyes has never treated this competition as an afterthought, and advancing past a Newcastle side with genuine trophy ambition is the kind of result that changes the mood around a mid-table campaign.

Fleetwood Town await in the quarter-final, a tie that looks straightforward on paper for a Premier League club but one that cup football has a habit of complicating. Everton won't be doing much planning around Grealish's involvement just yet, not after Moyes showed he's willing to make the call regardless of reputation.

What it means for Newcastle

For Howe's side, the exit ends any hope of a second Carabao Cup in three years and leaves the domestic cup calendar thinner than it looked a week ago. The Guardian's report notes Newcastle had periods where they looked the better side, which only sharpens the frustration: control without a scoreline to show for it is the kind of cup exit that lingers.