Everton ended their home misery by swatting aside winless Bournemouth to collect their first Premier League victory at Goodison Park this season.
Sean Dyche’s side had suffered four consecutive defeats on their own pitch, partly because of poor finishing, but here they put that right with well-taken goals.
Bournemouth played into their opponents’ hands with a series of defensive lapses and were punished by James Garner’s cool finish after 10 minutes following a slip by centre-back Illia Zabarnyi.
The second goal came courtesy of a poor punch by goalkeeper Neto, with the ball falling to Jack Harrison 25 yards out. The on-loan Leeds winger brilliantly lofted a first-time finish into an unguarded net.
The Toffees could have had a third on the stroke of half-time, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s towering header at the back post rattled the crossbar.
But the home side remained buoyant against a dire Cherries team and sealed victory on the hour mark when Abdoulaye Doucoure smashed in, just as he did on the final day of last season to ensure survival.
Toffees find themselves in unfamiliar territory
Everton fans have had nothing to cheer about at home this season, seeing Fulham, Wolves, Arsenal and even Luton come to their own patch and win.
The Blues had scored only once in those games and were made to rue countless missed opportunities.
Their last real moment of joy at Goodison had come in the final game of last term, coincidentally also against Bournemouth, when Doucoure’s winning goal saved them from the ignominy of dropping into the Championship, sparking scenes of relief.
Having been embarrassed by the Hatters last time out, this was a much-needed victory for Dyche and his men to get their campaign properly up and running before the international break.
Garner’s first Premier League goal and Harrison’s superb effort – his first for the club – put Everton and their delighted supporters in unfamiliar territory by seeing multiple goals at home.
The last time Everton scored more than once at home in a Premier League game had been in a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace in October 2022, when Dyche’s predecessor Frank Lampard was in charge.
Doucoure smacked their third from close range in the second half on Saturday, and the only real disappointment was in not being able to score more goals from their 25 shots against a poor side.
Calvert-Lewin struck the bar and chipped wide in the second half when racing through on goal, Doucoure blazed over from the edge of the box and Dwight McNeil angled a drive straight at Neto.
Andoni Iraola’s men remain in the bottom three, without a win from any of his eight games in charge, and gave Jordan Pickford a largely comfortable afternoon in goal, with Zabarnyi’s header that was cleared off the line the closest they came to scoring.