On the previous occasion when Everton scored three goals against Stoke City, they contrived to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 defeat in the dying minutes and that setback back in December was seen as further evidence that Roberto Martínez’s side are unable to take one step forward without subsequently shooting themselves in the foot.
Conceding an equaliser against Chelsea in the eighth minute of stoppage time last month gave Martínez’s critics further ammunition and it is about time that Everton prove that they are streetwise to manage games at this level.
Inspired by the magnificent Ross Barkley, however, this time Everton held on to their nerve and the points to take Stoke’s place in the top half after winning consecutive league games for the first time this season.
That statistic alone sums up why Everton are battling for mid-table respectability rather than challenging for Champions League qualification and this comprehensive victory over Stoke, who have badly lost their way since the turn of the year, must be the moment when they finally rid themselves of their debilitating inconsistency.
“The School of Science, it’s on the way back,” was the chant from the away end at the Britannia Stadium. Everton could have had a hatful and breaching the Stoke defence thee times inside the opening 42 minutes means that only Leicester City and Manchester City have bettered their total of 46 goals in 25 league matches.
A second consecutive clean sheet was equally satisfactory, although it must be pointed out that Stoke have scored one goal in their past six matches in all competitions. Their season has ground to a halt: Stoke have exited both cups in the past month and have not won in the league since 13 January.
However, Everton have turned losing leads into an art form under Martínez and their ability to defend an advantage was under the spotlight after Lukaku sent Jack Butland the wrong way from the spot in the 11th minute. The move that led to the penalty was Everton at their most incisive and, watching from the stands, the England manager Roy Hodgson must have purred at the sight of Barkley, seemingly pinned to the touchline, instigating the attack with the brilliantly instinctive backheel that sliced Stoke open on the left.
It was a glittering reminder of Barkley’s potential, the 22-year-old creating danger out of nothing with an instant flick into space, and Bryan Oviedo cantered forward before releasing Tom Cleverley, who invited contact from Butland. Lukaku was a doubt after taking a blow to the knee in last Wednesday’s victory over Newcastle United, but he coolly accepted the chance to score his 20th goal of the season.
Stoke are desperately short of confidence and they fell to pieces after Lukaku’s goal. They did not have a shot on target until they were already 3-0 down, Joel Robles holding Marko Arnautovic’s tame effort, and while there was an appreciative roar when Giannelli Imbula snapped into a robust early challenge a minute into his debut, Stoke’s new record signing could later be seen shivering in the wet and the wind.
The French midfielder was not quite ready for this after leaving Porto for £18.5m on deadline day and nor, to be brutally honest, were Stoke. They badly missed Ryan Shawcross in central defence and Everton doubled their lead when no one in a red and white shirt tracked Séamus Coleman’s run to the near post to meet Cleverley’s corner in the 28th minute.
Worse was to come. Stoke were regarded as one of the most exciting sides in the league when they were inspired by Arnautovic and Shaqiri in that wild win at Goodison Park on 28 December. Yet Arnautovic got little change out of Coleman, Shaqiri’s end product was minimal and Bojan Krkic stayed on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.
Mame Biram Diouf was peripheral in Bojan’s place, however, and Stoke’s lack of focus was encapsulated by Philipp Wollscheid’s dreadful pass inside to Aaron Lennon, whose finish was clinical.
Stoke’s performance was littered with countless errors and Lukaku, Barkley, Ramiro Funes Mori and Arouna Koné all wasted chances to inflict further humiliation on them in the second half. Yet this was an afternoon when Everton had no need for the cushion of a fourth goal.
Guardian