Everton scored the fourth-fastest goal in Premier League history as their revival under David Moyes continued with a resounding 4-0 defeat of Leicester City at Goodison Park.
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Abdoulaye Doucoure got them going after just 10 seconds, before Beto doubled Everton’s tally soon after.
The latter then made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time, capitalising on some poor defending by Leicester.
Iliman Ndiaye added further gloss late on as Everton surged above Tottenham Hotspur into 15th place, nine points clear of 18th-placed Leicester.
This was the Toffees' third league win in a row - the first time they have achieved such a run this season.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
23 | -5 | 26 |
| 16 |
Spurs
TOT
|
23 | +9 | 24 |
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
24 | -18 | 19 |
| 18 |
Leicester
LEI
|
24 | -28 | 17 |
| 19 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
24 | -27 | 16 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
24 | -36 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
Everton made a dream start as Leicester failed to deal with Jordan Pickford’s long ball, allowing Doucoure to burst into the box and drill home.
The hosts doubled their lead in the sixth minute. Beto, in for the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, exposed the Foxes' high line to latch on to a weighted pass by James Tarkowski and arrow a first-time finish across Mads Hermansen into the bottom-left corner.
Doucoure sliced over and James Garner, making his first start since October, hit the post. Garner then sent Beto through on goal with a sublime pass, and the striker duly tucked in his second strike, with Leicester’s defence once again caught cold.
With the hard work done, Everton kept Leicester at arm’s length after the restart, though Jesper Lindstrom should have done better when he struck at Hermansen from close range.
Ndiaye, though, made no such mistake in the 90th minute, finishing calmly after pouncing on a mix-up in the Leicester defence, capping off an ideal day for the hosts.
Moyes working his magic
Everton were forced to dig deep to grind out three points against Brighton & Hove Albion last week, but this was a far more assured performance, aided by two rapid goals.
Doucoure and Beto’s goals inside the first six minutes marked the earliest the Toffees had scored two goals in a Premier League match.
Unlike in their last home match, when they were made to hold on to claim a 3-2 win over Spurs, Everton never looked likely to slip up as they aimed to further ease any relegation concerns.
Moyes was forced to reshuffle his pack, due to the injuries Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala sustained at Brighton, but he will be delighted with the performances from their replacements.
Beto is, as it stands, Everton’s only fit striker, but he proved a handful through his endeavour and took both of his goals confidently.
Garner, meanwhile, turned in an all-action midfield display. He hassled and pressed out of possession, but showed plenty of class on the ball, including a superb assist for Everton’s third goal.
It has been an excellent start for Moyes in his second stint in charge, having now won three of his four matches. Next up is an FA Cup tie against Bournemouth, before Everton return to Premier League action against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.
Foxes have reason to fear
Ruud van Nistelrooy would have been looking for his team to pick up momentum after their impressive 2-1 comeback win over Tottenham last week, but those hopes were extinguished within the opening minutes, as Leicester found themselves on the backfoot from the get-go.
Defensively, the Foxes were badly lacking. They set the tone for Doucoure’s opener, with Boubakary Soumare failing to deal with Pickford’s punt, and the centre-backs behind him allowing Doucoure the freedom of the penalty area.
It did not get any better in the first half – both of Beto’s goals came from simple runs in behind a high line.
Bilal El Khannouss, so integral to the win at Spurs, was starved of opportunities, while Jamie Vardy had just nine touches before he was taken off on the hour.
Leicester's workmanlike midfield were distinctly second-best throughout and their struggles in progressing the ball up the pitch meant it took them until the 73rd minute to register their only shot on target, with Pickford saving easily from Patson Daka.
Van Nistelrooy will hope for better fortunes in the FA Cup, when he returns to face his old club Manchester United, having enjoyed a spell as interim manager at Old Trafford earlier in the season.
Club reports
Everton report | Leicester report
What the managers said
David Moyes: "Great credit to the players for another outstanding performance at times in the game. Not all the time, but it's good to see they're making good progress. When you get a goal as quickly as we did, after 10 seconds, it gave us a great confidence boost. It was a great start for us."
Ruud van Nistelrooy: "Everton were very effective but we knew at the start of the game, we had to stay in it. We didn't do that and we gave ourselves a big problem. After we worked so hard to get the win at Tottenham, this one is tough to take. But we have to take it on the chin, move on and keep working."
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Key facts
Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener for Everton after 10.18 seconds is the fourth-fastest goal scored in Premier League history, and the fastest scored by a player in a home match.
Everton have won three successive Premier League matches for only the second time since the start of 2024; the previously did it in April.
Leicester City conceded for the 50th time in the Premier League this season when Doucoure scored; after 24 games, it’s the earliest they’ve reached that total in a top-flight campaign since 1959/60 (23rd match).
Iliman Ndiaye has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances for Everton, the longest run by a player for the Toffees in the competition since Demarai Gray in September 2021.
Jordan Pickford recorded his second Premier League assist, the first was in August 2022 against Nottingham Forest; since the start of 2022/23, only Ederson (three) has more assists in the competition among goalkeepers.
