Trippier began his run up and had already envisaged what would happen next. The gap was there, but if he could not execute properly it would have just been another missed opportunity. He needed power, curl and placement. He got all three, the ball flying through the gap, before dipping and curling left to sneak inside the post with Pickford unable to get across quickly enough to keep it out. St James’ Park roared. Trippier’s own scream of happiness was drowned out amid the din long before he disappeared under a pile of black and white-shirted bodies near the corner flag.

It was a sublime free kick, a world-class strike from a player who has looked just that since he arrived from Atletico Madrid. In the stands, England manager Gareth Southgate, sat next to the public face of the Saudi Arabian-led consortium which owns Newcastle United, Amanda Staveley, will have also smiled.

Trippier may be 31 and Southgate may well be blessed with several fantastic right-backs in Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s Reece James, but this was a special performance from an elite player.

Goals earn headlines, defenders generally do not, but Trippier is by far the best defensively of all the different English right back options.

Ferocious in the tackle, competitive, intelligent and with leadership qualities, he is a diamond – solid as a rock when tasked with protecting his own goal, sparkling when he ventures forward.

Time and time again he broke up Everton attacks, stealing the ball or intercepting it, snapping at the heels and shins of those in blue shirts when necessary. In a physical game that threatened to get nasty on more than one occasion, Trippier’s bark was not nearly as bad as his bite.