Everton produced a brilliant performance to stun Manchester City, whose Premier League title hopes are now over according to manager Pep Guardiola.
The Toffees willingly soaked up 71% of City possession but restricted Guardiola’s side to few chances and scored with four of just six attempts at goal.
Romelu Lukaku coolly side-footed in a Kevin Mirallas cut-back and the Belgium internationals combined again after the break, Mirallas drilling Lukaku’s through-ball across the keeper.
Tom Davies sent Goodison Park into raptures on just his second league start by dinking a third over Claudio Bravo and £11m debutant Ademola Lookman fired between the legs of the keeper in injury time.
Goals from the two teenagers left Everton boss Ronald Koeman visibly elated, while Guardiola cut a frustrated figure, remonstrating with the fourth official late on in what is his heaviest ever league defeat as a manager.
City lacked cutting edge throughout, though had Davies not headed a looping Bacary Sagna header off the line before half-time, they may not have gone on to suffer a fifth league defeat of the season.
They stay fifth, 10 points off leaders Chelsea, while Everton remain seventh.
What a difference a week makes. After FA Cup defeat to Leicester last weekend an angry Koeman demanded the club’s hierarchy “opened its eyes”.
The £24m signing of Morgan Schneiderlin lifted some gloom but the roars for his 65th-minute appearance from the bench were dwarfed by the noise in injury time when Lookman, newly arrived from Charlton, made his mark.
Koeman was bold in starting with Davies and 20-year-old defender Mason Holgate, but pragmatic in his game plan. City have had over 50% of the ball in every league outing this season but Everton sat and soaked up possession comfortably.
Leighton Baines slid in to deny Raheem Sterling an opening early on and, Davies’ header off the line apart, the home goal never looked under serious threat.
The Toffees ran further and produced more sprints than the visitors, while with the ball they were direct, springing attacks through Lukaku, who proved a handful for City’s ragged back four.
Davies ran further than anyone on the pitch and released Mirallas in the build-up to the opening goal, before being involved in the second and cleverly chipping in the third after a driving run from his own half.
Schneiderlin could threaten the 18-year-old’s place but Koeman will welcome such a selection dilemma.
The Dutchman knows his team are far from a finished article but this win showed all they could be.
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