Everton climbed out of the relegation zone on Thursday with a 3-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League.
The Merseyside club had been plunged into the bottom three of England’s top flight by a 10-point deduction last month for breaching the league’s financial rules.
But it has responded in impressive fashion with back-to-back wins to lift it up to 17th in the standings — one point above the drop zone.
Second-half goals from Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto sealed the victory against Newcastle at Goodison Park.
Newcastle had beaten Manchester United 1-0 last weekend but missed the chance to move within a point of fourth-place Manchester City.
But the visitors were behind in the 79th when McNeil drove into the box and fired a left-footed shot that deflected into the corner beyond goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Doucoure doubled Everton’s lead seven minutes later and Beto made it 3-0 in the 96th.
Without the 10-point deduction Everton would be 10th and just six points behind seventh-place Newcastle. Instead, even after Thursday’s win, it is 10 places below Eddie Howe’s team.