The Merseyside club’s 4-0 win over the Villans could just be the start of a blue surge.
After surviving what many regarded to be their most difficult stretch of the entire campaign, with fixtures against all of last season’s top eight, Everton appear ready to make their move on the Premier League ladder after thumping struggling Aston Villa.
Morale in the Villa camp is currently as low, if not lower, than their current league standing, but the Toffees’ 4-0 win was nevertheless stacked with positives.
Finishing was prolific, young stars fired and the play was dynamic; Everton were easily able to split open a team that approached the fixture with a defensive mindset. Villa looked resolute in the early stages of the match until some fast ball movement cut through the defence like a hot knife through butter. In yesteryear, the Blues have seriously struggled to break down packed defences. Last season’s goalless home draw against West Bromwich Albion immediately springs to mind.
The stars of the show were the youthful three-piece of Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu. Lukaku and Barkley scored a brace each, with a delightful assist among the English midfielder’s wider efforts, while winger Deulofeu also nabbed an assist and may well have been named man of the match had in not been for the immense performances of his attacking compatriots. He was instrumental in many of Everton’s forward forays and gave stand-in full-back Kieran Richardson a torrid time.
The win was a timely confidence booster for Roberto Martinez’s side after it secured one point in a possible nine following tricky assignments against Manchester United, Arsenal and West Ham. From here on in though, the task gets much easier, with the next six weeks a crucial period for the club.
League meetings with Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Newcastle follow a trip to lowly Bournemouth, with a home fixture against flying Leicester City among those. With the exception of the latter clash, it is a realistic goal for Everton to be targeting the maximum 12 points on offer.
Of course, the fixtures should be met with the utmost respect for the opposition and a cautious optimism, none more so than the home match against the Eagles. Since they were promoted, Palace have scored two 3-2 victories at Goodison Park. Nevertheless, in the Everton way, only the best is good enough, and that is absolutely applicable to this run of matches.
Those points are especially crucial after points were dropped that may have been gained on a more efficient day, namely against the Hammers, Swansea and their geographical neighbours.
The Blues did more than just battle through the tough fixture list that confronted them in the opening months of the season. They laid a solid foundation to launch an assault on the table in the forthcoming period, taking points off Chelsea, Southampton (both three) and Spurs (one).
Away from the league, the Blues face a Capital One Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough at the Riverside, an opportunity for them to continue their refreshing run in that competition and win a first major trophy since the FA Cup triumph of 1995.
The dream of top four football, so nearly achieved in Martinez’s maiden campaign at Goodison, may be more than a pipe dream at the third time of asking. Yet there remains a long road to travel, and for the time being a clear straight looks to have been found. Everton must make the most of it.
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