Everton secured a first home win of the season against Bournemouth.
Sean Dyche’s side were forced into a late change ahead of kick-off as Amadou Onana replaced Idrissa Gueye, who pulled up with an injury.
James Garner put the hosts ahead inside just eight minutes after Illia Zabarnyi slipped in possession, allowing the midfielder to dill the ball home.
The Blues doubled their advantage late in the first half when Jack Harrison opened his account for the club with a stunning lobbed attempt from distance.
Abdoulaye Doucoure extended their lead on the hour mark by pouncing to rifle home a rebound after Milos Kerkez half-cleared Harrison’s shot on the line.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Dyche stumbles upon a solution
Losing a key member of your starting XI to injury in the warm-up is the stuff of nightmares for most managers but it offered Sean Dyche a second chance.
The Everton manager had named Idrissa Gueye in his line-up for Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth, only for the midfielder to pull up with a heel problem.
But the Senegal international’s personal misfortune proved to be a sliding doors moment as Amadou Onana took his place against Bournemouth.
That enforced change proved to be the catalyst for an emphatic and long-awaited first home victory of the season at Goodison Park for its hosts.
Onana’s dynamism was mirrored on the opposing side of midfield by James Garner while Abdoulaye Doucoure held things together as the single pivot.
No one will truly know whether the Blues would have still romped to such a comfortable victory had Gueye been fit to take his place in the engine room.
One thing is for certain, though, Dyche stumbled on a sure-fire solution.
…but he must heed history’s warning
Goodison’s belated return to winning ways on Saturday felt eerily familiar.
A sunny October afternoon at the Grand Old Lady culminated in a clinical display that brought together the Everton manager’s season-long vision.
If supporters were experiencing a case of deja-vu, it’s because they were.
This exact scenario played out almost 12 months ago as Frank Lampard’s players swatted Crystal Palace aside in a comprehensive rout for the hosts.
Parallels with the two displays are inescapable, not least given they arrived against teams whose previous visits had coincided with relegation escapes.
Yet Lampard’s fate after that dismantling of the Eagles should now serve as a forearming for Dyche ahead of a tricky run following the international break.
His predecessor failed to win any of the next eight games, picking up just two points from a potential 24 before finally paying the ultimate managerial price.
Palace was supposed to represent a turning point for Lampard but proved to be a false dawn. Dyche cannot afford to allow this result to become the same.
Blues dish out a valuable lesson
Beyond their victory, Everton also delivered something equally important.
Andoni Iraola had described Bournemouth’s final Premier League trip of the season to Merseyside as ‘a good chance’ to end their winless opening.
When the Spaniard gave that assessment on the eve of this encounter, plenty of long-suffering Evertonians feared it would prove to be a foreshadowing.
His confidence was somewhat understandable, with Dyche’s latest outing billed as a must-win if he was to avoid fresh scrutiny of his own position.
In bygone times Iraola’s message would be pinned to the wall of the dressing room but given Goodison’s recent downturn, it would have likely backfired.
Instead, Dyche had his players do their talking on the pitch and was rewarded by downing an anaemic Cherries’ side without needing to break into a sweat.
Post-match, Iraola was left choking down humble pie after seeing his team fully defrocked by their hosts before the clock had even hit the hour mark.
He had received a valuable lesson on why it never pays to speak out of turn.