Barry strikes twice in five days as Everton beat Newcastle at St James' Park

On Monday night Thierno Barry scored against Newcastle for the second time in five days as Everton earned a deserved Premier League win at St James' Park.

Last season Barry scored eight goals in 41 appearances; this season it has taken him just 12 games to match that tally. Only Erling Haaland (13) has scored more goals among Premier League players in all competitions this season than Barry (eight). The 24-year-old joined Everton from Villarreal last summer for £27m and grew up watching Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku score for the Toffees. With Beto's transfer to Fiorentina, Barry is the club's only recognised senior striker and is on his best run of form since joining.

Barry's start at Everton was difficult: he had just one shot across his first 16 Everton games, and last month posted a video of himself breaking down during a private training session last season. That low point contrasted with his celebration on Monday, which began with a knee slide and ended with dance moves.

Before Monday's match Everton had recorded 24 big chances and Barry had been involved in 15 of them (62.5%), putting him top for the highest proportion of his team's big chances. He has often been criticised for being wasteful in front of goal, a critique illustrated in the game when he latched on to Jarrad Branthwaite's flick-on but, when through on goal, made a poor connection and scuffed his shot.

His goal was a tap-in from two yards with an xG of 0.995. Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle told BBC Sport there was "a clear foul on Fabian Schar" in the build-up. "We know Barry misses chances, but we also know this season he keeps going and he scores goals," former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. Manager David Moyes added: "We're thrilled he's getting the goals because you need your centre-forward to score. He has missed a few but thankfully tonight he was on the spot to get the goal."

The victory moved Everton into seventh in the Premier League. Barry told Sky Sports: "I was working a lot during the summer and now we can see the result," "The season is long but I'm happy to help the team with my goals." "I want to enjoy more than last season and I enjoyed my celebration so I am happy."