Gylfi Sigurdsson helped Everton to a first away win of the seasons at Leicester City.

A superb first-half performance saw the Blues take an early lead at the King Power Stadium with Bernard’s jinking run set up Richarlison to tee the opener.

Marco Silva’s side had several chances to extend the lead but were punished for their profligacy when Ricardo raced away on the counter to draw the hosts level.

Another entertaining second 45 minutes followed in which both sides threatened a winner, which came when Sigurdsson smashed home a stunning strike.

Here were the key talking points from the King Power:

Richarlison deserves to lead the line

 

As Cenk Tosun has struggled for Everton this season, the calls for Richarlison to be played as the central striker have increased in volume.

The Brazilian has very limited experience playing as the focal point of a team, having only ever performed in the role while representing his homeland.

His first start there for the Blues suggested a change of position may be in order.

All of the things that Tosun has failed to offer, Richarlison provided.

Through direct running, pace, trickery and hold-up play, he caused plenty of problems for Leicester’s centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan.

His presence up front also brought out the best of those around him, with Theo Walcott, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bernard all benefitting in a fluid looking forward line.

Richarlison may be the answer to Everton’s striker problem after all.

Brilliant Bernard fills the Pienaar void

 

On the subject of brilliant Brazilians, Bernard again impressed at the King Power Stadium.

Fresh from being the star performer in the midweek Carabao Cup exit to Southampton, the winger proved a shining light against the Foxes.

His jinking run into the box to set up Richarlison’s opening goal was a piece of sheer brilliance. Beyond that, though, he provides everything this Everton team needs.

In particular, he helps to take the creative burden off of Sigurdsson’s shoulders.

Bernard is quickly looking like the long-awaited replacement for Steven Pienaar that the Blues have fruitlessly sought for a number of years.

Like the South African, he is quickly making a mockery of the minimal cost it took to bring him to Goodison Park.

Blues back up and running

 

After the Southampton ordeal, Everton and Marco Silva needed this victory.

Some fans were asking questions in the wake of the penalty shoot-out defeat.

Most of those were aimed at the Portuguese boss and his decision to make so many changes in a competition that his side should have been looking to win.

If Everton had followed that up with another disappointing result against Leicester, then the doubts would have only become amplified.

Fortunately, that did not prove to be the case; Everton deserved to win this by a country mile.

They were the better team for most of the game, created the most chances and were worthy of all three points.

Back-to-back league victories and Silva’s first on the road as Everton manager have lessened the disappointment of that loss to the Saints considerably.

A harsh lesson for Kenny

 

Bad experiences tend to be learning experiences for young players and this display will certainly go down as one for Jonjoe Kenny.

He has been a solid performer since breaking into the first-team. Last weekend against Fulham, for example, was one of his best displays in a blue shirt yet.

At Leicester, though, Kenny struggled throughout. The hosts targeted him all afternoon and it was he who was painfully exposed for Ricardo’s equaliser.

Silva will be hoping that it is a lesson the 21-year-old learns from.

Kenny has every chance to develop into a fine player but this game proved he has some way to go before he is truly challenging Seamus Coleman.