Everton escaped the Premier League’s relegation zone with a win over Leeds.
Seamus Coleman ultimately settled a cagey encounter with a stunning half-volley in the 65th minute of his 400th appearance for Sean Dyche’s side.
The Blues’ second consecutive home victory saw them leapfrog their visitors and move up to 16th in the table, just a point clear of the bottom three.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Blues can’t waste overdue breathing space
The Premier League’s relegation battle is the tightest it has ever been at this stage of the season, with just six points separating 14th place from 20th.
After spending five weeks in the dreaded bottom three, Everton’s climb up to 16th place was a welcome one but, equally, comes with a note of caution.
Only superior goal difference keeps the Blues ahead of Bournemouth while West Ham’s game in-hand could leave increasingly little room for manoeuvre.
Back-to-back home wins, sandwiching a forgettable Merseyside derby, have followed a recurring theme of scrappy encounters settled by solitary goals.
Replicating the grit and gumption that propelled Howard Kendall’s spirited side to glory in the mid-1980s may be Dyche’s early long-term vision for the club.
But Goodison Park’s utopia remains on hold while its unbroken 69-year spell in the English top flight remains on the line for a second successive campaign.
When scores elsewhere flashed up on the big screens near the end of the game, Everton’s urgency to get their one over the line became exacerbated.
They will need to stay on high alert for Aston Villa’s visit next weekend or risk being sucked back into the relegation dogfight instead of pulling clear of it.
‘Sixty grand’ Coleman shows his worth again
Seamus Coleman’s oft-quoted £60,000 price tag continues to represent the greatest value-for-money signing in Everton’s history, if not football itself.
All nine permanent managers to occupy Goodison’s dugout since 2009, from David Moyes through to Dyche, came to depend on the current club captain.
Coleman’s 400 games in a royal blue shirt yielded a return of exactly £150 apiece on his original investment while 28 goals come in at around £2,142.
Yet the Republic of Ireland international’s latest personal milestones may prove to be a true collector’s item after securing maximum points over Leeds.
Focus invariably gravitated to the audacious second-half drilled shot, not least for the 34-year-old using all of his stamina before that impressive execution.
Coleman’s effortlessness in shacking a tricky left-sided opponent in Wilfried Gnonto, however, was just as impressive as the goal that it sat either side.
He had already performed the feat once at Goodison this season, against the Italian’s namesake Wilfried Zaha in Crystal Palace’s 3-0 reversal last October.
It was the kind of masterful defending that any club battling for its survival needs to stand a fighting chance of pulling off the seemingly improbable.
Simms finally thrives as agent of chaos
Ellis Simms undoubtedly enjoyed better games than Monday night at Anfield.
Increasingly isolated and leading the line because of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s latest injury woes, the 22-year-old found himself on the end of a losing battle.
Although he spent barely a quarter of an hour on the pitch, Goodison was treated to the sight of Simms doing what he can best in the closing stages.
The young striker utilised his experiences on loan with Sunderland earlier this term to become an agent of chaos for Leeds’ already punch-drunk defence.
They were already on the ropes before Simms replaced Neal Maupay in the 81st minute and proceeded to drag them out of position on the counter.
Granted, he is far from a panacea to Everton’s baffling decision to end last month’s transfer window without a proper backup option for Calvert-Lewin.
That decision is one which may still come back to haunt Dyche as much as the Goodison hierarchy but Simms has offered his manager food for thought.