Everton kicked off their new Premier League season with a win at Tottenham.
Carlo Ancelotti handed full debuts to all three of his side’s summer signings as Allan, James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure started Sunday’s encounter.
The new-look Blues forced a breakthrough on 62 minutes when Dominic Calvert-Lewin met Lucas Digne’s pinpoint free kick with a bullet header.
Here were the key talking points from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
A sign of things to come?
One result does not set the tone for an entire season, but Evertonians can take genuine optimism from a milestone-setting win in North London.
Their opening day first victory on the road since 2001 was coupled with an end to their myopia against the Premier League’s top six sides in seven years.
David Moyes used to talk resignedly of the Blues ‘taking a knife to a gunfight’ when facing their considerably well-heeled counterparts in the top flight.
Carlo Ancelotti, however, set up his side to go toe-to-toe with Tottenham with a clear strategy to dictate the pace of the games practically from the outset.
The Champions League-winning coach has clearly bought into a renewed determination at Goodison Park to restore the club to its former glories.
It may be a journey with bumps along the way but Ancelotti has set down a marker to stay true to the mantra that nothing but the best is good enough.
New recruits show their quality
For all the anticipation surrounding Everton’s trio of new signings, few anticipated that they would collectively hit the ground running in the capital.
Yet the new midfield axis of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure passed its first test with flying colours in nullifying Spurs’ routine attempts to counter.
The Brazil international won plaudits and the Man of the Match award on his first competitive outing in English football, less than a week after arriving.
His diligence in recovering possession dovetailed seamlessly with the Premier League experience that Doucoure gained with Watford over four years.
James Rodriguez, too, offered a taster of what fans can come to expect when they are eventually allowed to witness his brilliance in the flesh at matches.
No Everton player had created as many chances in one game during the last two years as the Colombian amassed during his impressive debut showing.
If this is Rodriguez’s level of performance after his stock fell from a great height, imagine what regular games and a boosted confidence will deliver.
Pickford comes out on top
Everton and Spurs faced challenges fixing their respective error-prone goalkeepers in the limited time between last season ending and this one starting.
Where Jose Mourinho enlisted Joe Hart’s services to place pressure on the much-maligned Hugo Lloris, Ancelotti stuck to his guns on Jordan Pickford.
Hindsight suggests the Italian’s perseverance could pay off far sooner after Pickford managed to turn back the clock at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The England no.1’s decline in the two years since he and Lloris shared centre-stage at the World Cup has been more stark than his France counterpart.
But any hint of Pickford’s recent malaise were conspicious by their absence in a first half when he pulled off saves to deny both Dele Alli and Matt Doherty.
Beyond that, the 26-year-old demonstrated a strong command of his area without resorting to the brainless bravado which blighted his recent displays.
More of the same and he will be untouchable for both club and country.
Richarlison still on track
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 25th league goal in a royal blue shirt saw him join illustrious company alongside Wayne Rooney in Goodison’s record books.
Had things turned out diffreently, Richarlison would have been walking off with the match ball after fashioning numerous opportunities in each half.
The Brazilian’s balance let him down after rounding Lloris at speed in the opening 45 minutes but skewed the shot horribly over the crossbar.
He routinely caused Spurs problems following the interval by cutting inside and unleashing powerful efforts that whistled just past the hosts’ goal.
Disheartening as drawing a blank may be, Richarlison’s knack for finding himself in the right positions at the key moments still bodes incredibly well.