A Cenk Tosun double gave Everton a rare away win against Stoke City.

The hosts went down to 10 men in the first half after Charlie Adam’s lunge at Wayne Rooney prompted referee Martin Atkinson to issue a straight red card.

Tosun recorded a third goal in as many games after Jack Butland had parried his initial effort before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s follow-up was cleared off the line.

That lead in the snow-laden Potteries would prove short-lived for the Blues when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting beat Jordan Pickford at his far post to stab home.

Tosun, however, would later tip the balance back in favour of Sam Allardyce’s side with a stooped header from a Theo Walcott cross to take maximum points.

Here were the key talking points from the Bet365 Stadium:

Safety offers Big Sam no more excuses

 

There can no longer be any hiding for Sam Allardyce.

Stability was the platform on which the one-time England manager was appointed Ronald Koeman’s successor at Everton barely four months ago.

But he now needs to show far more.

Reaching the 40-point mark at Stoke ended all prospects of the Blues being dragged into a Premier League relegation battle in the season’s final months.

And with it should have come a realisation that ‘Big Sam’ has much work to do if he is to remain in the Goodison Park hot seat beyond the coming summer.

He already faces an uphill task with Everton’s fan base turned toxic by his style of football. It is up to him now to prove that he remains the right man for the job.

Playing in a more ambitious and expansive fashion might be a good start.

Tosun: fire on ice

 

The irony of a striker supposedly incapable of performing in colder climes scoring twice in the midst of a snowstorm will not be lost on many.

However there was more to Cenk Tosun’s heroics than disproving haughty derision.

Everton are already getting their money’s worth from the Turkey international with a run of form which has seen him score four goals in his last three games.

The £27 million man continues to prove a sound investment for more than extending his hot streak amid the unseasonably arctic chill in the Potteries.

Not since Andy Gray have the Blues boasted a striker brave enough to put himself in the position to execute such a devastating low diving header.

There remains a long way to go before Tosun is regularly mentioned in the same breath as Goodison greats but he may get there far sooner than first anticipated.

Pickford still England’s no.1… just

 

Jordan Pickford is destined to be England’s top goalkeeper at the World Cup, yet Everton’s former record signing proved that he is hardly infallible.

Where he bested Burnley’s Nick Pope when the pair faced off in his side’s recent defeat, Pickford will not look back on this latest outing with a great fondness.

Neither stopper emerged with much credit from the blizzard at the Bet365 Stadium, particularly in their respective teams conceding vital goals.

Jack Butland should have been stronger in combating Tosun’s decisive header while Pickford failed to stop Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at his far post.

Fortunately for the £30m man, Gareth Southgate decided against a trip to the Potteries after naming his Lions squad for the upcoming friendlies.