It was only Leeds United, flaky, injury-plagued Leeds United, a team with only two wins on the Premier League road this season and with their outstanding midfielder and outstanding striker still absent.
Frank Lampard will not be getting carried away.
But this is what he was hired to do, this is the sort of inspiration a grand, old club so desperately needed.
Why some players have suddenly decided to do it for Lampard is another debate, where this intensity came from is another prickly question that might not reflect well on some in blue jerseys.
But for now, it won’t matter.
Everton’s deficiencies were illuminated by the St James’ Park lights last Tuesday but the response to the new manager’s urgings and edicts in his first Premier League game at Goodison Park was vibrantly emphatic.
Just as a wonderful stadium shook on Tyneside as Newcastle were reviving under a newish manager, a wonderful stadium shook on Merseyside.
Just as that newish manager revelled in a rapport with passionate local support in Newcastle, a newish manager revelled in a rapport with passionate local support in Liverpool.
And while that defeat in the North East was a very early reality check, Lampard could not have asked for more from his players against Leeds.
Let’s face it, a variety of factors have given Lampard some early leeway.
He has winning pedigree as a player, is bright, articulate and – despite his own brief time as a coach being unspectacular – he must surely have learnt a fair bit from a variety of mentors.
But his biggest plus point? He’s not Rafa.
Fans will be more indulgent, fans will be more forgiving of his mistakes, fans will love his relatively youthful enthusiasm.
And on this limited body of evidence, so will the staff.
Once again, the caveats.
Already without long-term casualties Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips, Marcelo Bielsa lost the hugely influential Stuart Dallas less than 10 minutes into this contest. And the visitors did have their moments, Rodrigo twice testing the crossbar’s resolve.
But, particularly after the surrender at St James’, this was exactly what Lampard was looking for.
And what he was looking for was probably symbolised by the two first-half goals.
A decent passing move indirectly created the opening for the first but it was Seamus Coleman’s utter determination that led to the close-range, headed conversion.
Equally determined was Michael Keane when he powered in a header from a corner.
Coleman and Keane have not escaped criticism this season – far from it – but Lampard might just be able to restore their confidence.
In a way, this was a throwback performance from Everton, a dogs-of-war tribute afternoon.
But Lampard knows that while passion, energy and commitment might be prerequisites, they will not always win you football matches.
And while Leeds, even in defeat, were, in a technical sense, marginally the more accomplished side, there were glowing signs of increasing fluency from Everton.
In Anthony Gordon, they have a precocious talent and you can bank on Lampard giving him every bit of encouragement and every opportunity.
But the eye-catcher here was Donny van de Beek, who probably had more touches in this one match than he has had in his Manchester United career.
Lampard and the Dutchman could prove to be a very productive combination.
For the last time, this desperately-needed win – ending a run of four consecutive league defeats – has to be qualified by Leeds’ own issues.
But as Gordon fired in a third and Lampard took the acclaim from all four Goodison Park stands, that was irrelevant.
This was his third game at the helm but if there is to be a Lampard era on Merseyside, this felt like the official start, the grand opening.
This was the Super Frank that Everton signed up for.
