A fresh wave of optimism swept through Merseyside over the weekend after Everton produced a commanding performance to beat Crystal Palace 3-0.
The Toffees dominated from minute one, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbing his first goal of the season inside 11 minutes. The Goodison Park faithful witnessed some champagne football for both second-half goals, with Anthony Gordon tapping home a rebound after a free-flowing move from the back before Dwight McNeil grabbed the third, slipping in Alex Iwobi to produce a genius flick back to the former Burnley man who fired home.
Victory on Saturday ended a slightly worrying three-game losing streak - albeit against difficult sides in Newcastle United, Tottenham and Manchester United - and propelled the Toffees up to a comfortable 12th. Everton's season can very much be split into clear segments, with consecutive defeats to kick off the campaign being followed by a six-match unbeaten run and then that trio of defeats.
