Second half goals from Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku were enough to give Everton a much-needed win at Leicester City.
Ronald Koeman switched from his favoured 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3, with Ross Barkley dropped to the Blues’ bench alongside a returning Phil Jagielka.
Everton failed to register a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes but broke the deadlock just six minutes after the half-time interval.
A Joel Robles clearance cut through the heart of Leicester’s defence, allowing Mirallas to sweetly slide the ball beyond Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Two minutes from time, substitute Barkley found Lukaku, whose muscle and determination was too much for Wes Morgan as he cut in and dispatched the winner.
Here were the key talking points from the King Power Stadium…
Lukaku focus helps and hinders Blues
Romelu Lukaku appears to be both Everton’s greatest blessing and the biggest curse.
Clearly their biggest goal-scoring threat and scorer of the second goal, the Belgian’s strong aerial ability often dictates that the Blues’ game becomes more direct.
Finding a way for the club’s other front men to get involved in the game is manager Ronald Koeman’s greatest conundrum at the moment.
Too, often Kevin Mirallas and Aaron Lennon look marginalised or are too deep in attack. This represents a welcome three points, but it is not the style of play that Koeman or Evertonians have become accustomed.
Both Belgians scored today, but Everton still lack the attacking cohesion to worry the league’s bigger teams.
Young and old excel in defence
Despite some jitters in the opening quarter as the team adapted to the new formation, this was a superb defensive display.
Ashley Williams put in one of his more commanding performances since his arrival from Swansea last summer while Mason Holgate was also a stand out.
The former Barnsley defender fully vindicated his manager’s decision to give him the nod ahead of Phil Jagielka.
When Everton looked unfamiliar with their new-look formation, Holgate calmly dealt with Leicester’s attacking play on the left.
The £2 million signing was even cool-headed enough to play his way out of trouble on a couple of nervy occasions.
It’s long way before he can be judged to filling the boots of John Stones, a fellow Oakwell graduate, but a few more of these displays will bode well for the future of the defensive unit.
Koeman’s tweak could be catalyst
Is the new formation a change of tack from the Everton manager?
The 3-4-3 approach, currently in vogue and used by Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola, didn’t demonstrate a huge change in Everton’s mostly direct approach.
Whether the former Southampton boss will persevere with this tactical approach remains to be seen but Everton excelled despite not playing at full-throttle.
They were compact in midfield and solid defensively, the latter an Achilles’ heel this season, and grew in confidence as Leicester struggled to find any fluidity or creative spark.
Koeman might yet give the new tactical formation a few games to bed in, given that the team have every chance of picking up the perfect nine points from their festive fixture list.
Hull holds key to a happy New Year
A clean sheet and three points will give the travelling Toffees a deserved Christmas present after the side’s travails during November and December.
The Premier League champions were poor despite a bright start to the game, and Everton particularly in the second half, asked the greater questions, without ever playing at their very best.
A visit to Hull City in a final game of 2016 means they have an excellent chance of finishing the year on a high.
Victory in the next two games will calm the recent disquiet towards Koeman and the his team and put Everton’s season firmly back on course.