Everton moved into the top half of the Premier League after goals from Kurt Zouma and Dominic Calvert-Lewin sealed a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday.
Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said in midweek that Everton being 11th in the Premier League "is just not good enough" and Zouma's 61st-minute header got them going in the right direction at Goodison Park.
Substitute Calvert-Lewin struck deep into second-half stoppage time for a result that may help ease the pressure on boss Marco Silva, who was backed by Moshiri despite a run of four defeats in five matches.
Wolves could send the Toffees back into the bottom half by beating Manchester City on Monday, while Bournemouth have now been victorious only once in their past seven top-flight outings.
Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford combined to stop Josh King converting Ryan Fraser's cutback, before David Brooks had a penalty claim ignored by referee Anthony Taylor.
Brooks was unperturbed and in the 14th minute latched onto a throughball from Junior Stanislas and struck the base of the post with an awkward-looking effort with his weaker right foot.
Everton eventually improved and Michael Keane clipped the crossbar with a glancing header from Lucas Digne's delivery before half-time, while Richarlison would have broken the deadlock four minutes after the restart had Nathan Ake not managed to block his goal-bound shot on the line.
Zouma put Everton ahead with his first goal for the club when he found space in the area to head another fine cross from Digne beyond Asmir Begovic.
Keane and Pickford combined to deny Dan Gosling an equaliser and Calvert-Lewin – who replaced Richarlison – turned Ademola Lookman's cutback home in the 95th minute to guarantee the win.
What does it mean? Bournemouth blunted by Wilson absence
Eddie Howe deemed Callum Wilson's hamstring injury sufficient to keep him out of the trip to Merseyside and the Cherries lacked a clinical edge in his absence. King was unable to take his best chance in the first half and Bournemouth might find it tough to turn around their poor form if Chelsea can tempt Wilson away.
Digne impresses once again
Left-back Digne has stepped his performances up a level over the past month and his quality out wide in the final third proved key for Everton. He was involved in the Toffees' best moments and his assist for Zouma means he has been involved in five goals in his past seven Premier League games.
Gomes and Sigurdsson come up short
Everton struggled to keep hold of the ball in the first half and they were not helped by the sloppiness of Andre Gomes and Gylfi Sigurdsson in possession. The Iceland international hacked at a great opening before half-time and Gomes also wasted an excellent opportunity early in the second half, blazing over from 15 yards.
Key Opta facts
- Everton have now won all six of their competitive home matches against Bournemouth, including all four in the Premier League.
- Bournemouth have conceded 103 goals in the Premier League since the start of 2017-18, two more than any other team in that period (West Ham on 100).
- Zouma was the 139th different player to score a goal for Everton in the Premier League, only West Ham (147), Tottenham (146) and Newcastle (141) have seen more players net for them in the competition.
- Zouma’s goal for Everton was his third in the Premier League and his first since November 2017 for Stoke City. All three of his goals have come from headers inside the box.
- Everton’s Digne has had six goal involvements this season (three goals, three assists), equaling his best ever tally in a top-flight campaign (also six for Roma in 2015-16).
- Calvert-Lewin scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season for Everton, equaling his best-ever tally in a top-flight league campaign (four in 2017-18).
- After scoring six goals in his first nine Premier League appearances for Everton, Richarlison has scored just three goals in his last 11 games in the competition
What's next?
Everton travel to Southampton on Saturday and Bournemouth host West Ham on the same day.
