The late, great Formula One World Champion James Hunt once declared: “The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel” when describing his driving style and while Evertonians have felt the rush of the footballing equivalent of the euphoria that follows victory after you’ve had to stare into the abyss – most recently on Crystal Palace’s previous visit to Goodison Park earlier this year – it was a welcome relief to eventually stroll to success for once.
A 3-0 victory to move Everton up to 11 th in the Premier League table and within three points of neighbours Liverpool, who finished 53 points and 14 places above them last term was in sharp contrast to the nail-biting drama of the Blues’ 3-2 comeback win over the Eagles on May 19 to secure the club’s top flight status and avoid what could have been a first relegation in 71 years.
Back then, Dominic Calvert-Lewin didn’t find the net in front of the Gwladys Street to finally put Frank Lampard’s side ahead until five minutes from the end but here, starting at Goodison for the first time since that famous night, his low right foot finish – at the same end of the ground that houses Everton’s most-vociferous fans – he ensured they were leading this contest from the 11 th minute onwards. Aforementioned racer Hunt died aged just 45 in Wimbledon on June 15, 1993, less than a year before the Blues’ first Premier League ‘Great Escape’ against Wimbledon and after going through it all again against Coventry City a mere four years later, Goodison patrons could be forgiven for feeling they’d had their fill of the emotional roller-coaster of living on the edge.
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The relief of finally getting over the line with a game to spare last season – in a campaign that would end with the joint lowest equivalent points total in the club’s history – and avoiding having to go to Arsenal with their destiny in the balance was palpable but while Everton have demonstrated considerable improvements this term after their 5-1 drubbing at the Emirates Stadium in their final 2021/22 fixture, most of their subsequent matches have been finely-balanced with little scope to savour the moment until the final whistle. Other than the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier, all of the Blues’ games so far this season had either finished level or had just a single-goal margin between the sides – even in the Carabao Cup tie at League One Fleetwood Town where Demarai Gray’s solitary strike proved the difference.
In Everton’s only other Goodison win this term, Neal Maupay’s moment of inspiration had edged out David Moyes’ West Ham United while the Blues were left clinging on for their lone away day success at Southampton after coming from behind to triumph 2-1 in what has been the only other time they have scored more than once. Indeed, this was the first occasion that Lampard’s men had found the net three times in a single game since their previous encounter against Palace.
A popular account on Twitter from Everton fan ‘Darren’ with the handle @nsno_83 that lists five ‘good things’ after matches, quipped that it was the “first comfortable win at Goodison in what feels like a decade” and while that might be something of an overstatement for comic effect, long-suffering supporters certainly haven’t had too many relaxing afternoons of late. There had been just two goals in the first four matches for the home faithful to cheer before this weekend and the team’s compact approach, as Lampard looks to tighten up a defence that leaked 66 goals last season, has brought back memories of Walter Smith’s first campaign in charge.
Things haven’t been anywhere near as bad as that this term but back in 1998/99, Everton incredibly failed to score in nine of their first dozen Premier League home games and netted just three times during that period. However, they ended that goal famine with a 5-0 feast against Middlesbrough on February 17 and would sign off at Goodison with a 6-0 thrashing of a West Ham United side who finished fifth featuring a 20-year-old Lampard.
Such one-sided victories are rare for Premier League outfits outside of the division’s elite these days but while the Blues’ current boss has been striving for solidity, there have now been a smattering of occasions like these in which his team has won big. The 4-1 FA Cup fourth round romp over Brentford in Lampard’s first game in charge was the greatest margin of victory for an Everton manager in his opening fixture but in terms of Premier League triumphs, the 44-year-old has brought some convincing afternoons not seen by the Goodison crowd for a while now.
The 3-0 scoreline against Crystal Palace, mirrors the result when Leeds United came for Lampard’s first Premier League match at the helm on February 12. Before that, you have to go all the way back to a 4-0 demolition of Manchester United under Marco Silva on April 21, 2019 for Everton to enjoy such a margin of victory in a top flight match in front of fans.
Rafael Benitez never enjoyed a three-goal success during his short-and-not-so-sweet tenure while even the highly-decorated Carlo Ancelotti only managed it once in the Premier League as Blues boss, 5-2 against West Bromwich Albion at Goodison on September 19, 2020 in a fixture played behind closed doors because of coronavirus restrictions. Many pragmatic Evertonians will realise the importance of Lampard’s safety first priorities when getting the best out of the tools at his disposal but it’s always a treat when you can get afternoons like this weekend in which everything comes together and supporters can enjoy the fruits of their team’s labour in emphatic fashion.
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