Fine brace from Richarlison seals win

I am really surprised how much space we have down both flanks, both in front and in behind their defence. Seamus is much improved on his performances this season and he and Walcott are dovetailing very nicely down the right. Digne and Bernard to a lesser degree on the left, but still decent.

Sigurdsson should have had at least one goal, but is still playing well. Our breakaway goal from a Brighton corner was a thing of beauty and quality all round by all concerned.

The equaliser conceded was a soft one, but well played Brighton for the short corner which shifted our zonal marking (which in recent weeks is working very, very well) half a yard which opened the space when the ball came in.

Gomes very passive and a little loose, but otherwise we are looking very good. Need to start putting the chances away we are creating.

We should be two up. Need better finishing in the second half.

That 90 minutes alone was far more entertaining than the entire stint on Sam Allardyce's watch. The Goodison faithful clearly enjoyed it, judging by the SFX of the crowd.

Didn't Seamus enjoy his goal? The way he celebrated suggests he has not been deaf or blind to some of the questioning of his performances this season, but he was outstanding today.

Richarlison up to six goals now, including a 3-match suspension in his time with us. Superb finish from a wonderfully crafted goal, back to front, for his first, and how long is it since we had a player on our books to show the alertness, guile and ability to score in the fashion he did for his second?

The defence barely ruffled in the 2nd half. Gomes once again had a better 2nd half than 1st. Gueye immense. Nobody performed badly.

This is a team coming together very nicely, thank you very much.

Bernard still looks under-utilized, but does what he can.

3 points!

Seamus has been poor since his return from injury, not just this season, but last season also, other than his storming return game against Leicester.

It hasn't been a witch hunt against a hugely respected player (and man...). Nor has there been blanket dismissal that Seamus could return to the standards of old.

Very legitimate evaluations have been made by several posters about the standard he was performing at, which has been well short of what we know he is capable of.

Today, he demonstrated he still has got 'it'.

It is now down to the player to maintain that standard.

He was better today, yet he did give the ball away much too much. Hopefully, he will improve.

Walcott also improved today, his movement is so intelligent, his pace is deadly but his final ball is lacking.

Gomes and Gueye are an ideal midfield partnership. And Digne is brilliant.

However, there is no room for passengers on the pitch and, if he plays well, he gets lauded, so if he plays poorly, he should also take the flak. Let's hope it was just poor form and now he will continue in this vein.

Richarlison's goals were sublime and he ran them ragged throughout. Bernard and Walcott quieter, but they kept things moving, and Walcott defintely upped his game from recent weeks. Well done to the lads and the manager all round.

Still feel we fail to exploit all the corners and crosses we get in due to our flying wing backs and Gylfi.

Gomes is outstanding, we must do everything we can to make him love Everton and the local area.

As for individual performances, I thought the whole team was excellent. Coleman and Walcott raised their game after some criticism this week. As did Richarlison. Quite a few people were starting to make noises that he couldn't cut it as a centre-forward and he scored two fantastic goals. What a riposte.

Gomes was actually my Man of the Match. He was everywhere. He keeps the ball and is creative with it. He also allows Gana to sit deeper between the centre-backs and to do what he does best. Finally, the midfielders have clearly defined roles.

It was a great game. I'm looking forward to watch us play again. Even at Man Utd last week, I was optimistic we could get something from the game. Our team is set up to beat teams in away fixtures on the break. We have the pace to hurt teams. Let's see what happens in these coming away fixtures, but today, it feels good to be Evertonian again.

My only criticism is that we still look shaky defending from corners. My heart's in my mouth every time the opposition get one.

I thought the exact same thing when Seamus ran to the crowd to celebrate his goal and you are correct that there have been discussions here about his and Walcott's performance on the right hand side.

It was good to see him and Walcott have a better game today!

Richarlison was fantastic today and a class above Duffy and Dunk and that's six goals now already, the challenge for him now is to do it next weekend at Chelsea?

Gomes has shown us what we've been missing with tolerating Schneiderlin and Davies in that role; well, Gomes is pure Rolls-Royce, a different level.

As I said yesterday, an out-of-form Coleman is still better than Kenny (nothing on Kenny as he did a decent job) but Coleman, when on fire, can do things like that today.

Zouma and Keane simply owned Murray and the only comforts I can take from that partnership being broken next week is that we have Yerry Mina coming in.

All-in-all, a very comfortable and satisfying victory and I'm enjoying Marco Silva and I feel like he's enjoying us; it's a completely different landscape to the Allardyce tenure.

Special mention today for Gana, bloody immense today he was!

I loved Coleman's reaction to some fans after his goal. Too many people dismiss players as 'shite' after a poor run of form or even a couple of average games. It is some fans who lack foresight and perspective who are prone to 'over egg' things.

I see Barkley, that Chelsea player, is still "shite".

So I refute your implication that he has not been supported in his struggle to return to form from his injury, or that he has been broadly dismissed as permanently 'crocked'.

Nor do you convince me with the further implication you make that his poor form is down to being paired with Walcott, rather than his own shortcomings.

Because in spite of all your claims, Seamus has been in poor form for the bulk of the 9 months and 18 Premier League games he has played for Everton since returning against Leicester. That's a very broad time and game span to make a considered evaluation of his performances since the turn of the year.

For that reason, I also consider it way too premature on your part to claim his performance today 'put to bed' the legitimate doubts expressed by some about Seamus's capacity to recover to his previous high standards.

I am sure, like yourself, I am not alone in being absolutely delighted with the way Seamus played today and his goal. That doesn't blind me to the reasonable evaluation that today was his second best performance (after that Leicester game) since his return from injury and for the bulk of the other 16 games he has played since then he has been well short of the standards we know he can perform at.

As I said earlier, today Seamus demonstrated he can still perform at those standards. It know befalls to the player to maintain that high standard on a consistent basis. Because a Seamus Coleman performing at those levels is a golden asset and example to the entire team.

Many steps to be taken still and no doubt some will be false ones but I think you can tell that we are all feeling deep into love with Everton all over again. Excitement and optimism is beginning to seep out. Even Jim Bennings says he's enjoying Marco Silva.

Shane Duffy said after the game that Everton are going places and I think (Hope) he might be right. Next week will be a good test. We were unfortunate at times against Man Utd but Chelsea are tougher nut than them.

Think rolling up all the criticism and saying it's fine maybe a bit much, in here and at games some of it has definitely crossed the line beyond genuine criticism into some pretty nasty abuse.

Personally cut him more slack than some and it takes the conversation away from an excellent performance.

Also, I doubt that celebration was meant for anyone but the odd idiot in the crowd if anyone at all. Let's not make it something it likely wasn't.

Keane is improving every game.

The big test comes against Chelsea. We bottled it against Man United; if we do the same against them, it won't be a one-goal difference.

Seamus Coleman has come in for some unnecessary stick from some posters on here recently. After the injury he had, it was always going to take time to get back to the level he had been at before the injury. That being said, he was actually still playing well, just maybe not reaching the very high heights he had been at in years gone by. Today, he was magnificent and I'm so pleased for him.

I feel Evertonians are too quick to turn on their own players particularly those homegrown like what happened with Barkley and has been happening with Davies more recently. I find that hard to understand.

But anyhow, fantastic performance today. Some beautiful football played. Silva and Brands are beginning to make a very positive impact on this club.

That first goal could be in the running for goal of the season with the quick execution from one end of the field to the back of the net, brilliant. Seamus scored a very good goal and played very well then Charlie scored another brilliant individual goal to finish the scoring.

We played very well, I thought, but were Brighton as poor as I thought they were, particularly the two full-backs and the centre-backs when the ball was on the floor? I think I'll go with: We made them look poor.

Whatever it was, we are now a pleasure to watch this season and Goodison Park is a very happy place to go to now; roll on the next game.

One serious moan, why is Pickford glued to his line when corners, centres and free kicks are played into his six-yard area? He shouldn't have allowed that header for their goal, he should have been well out to it and punched it away: a recurring fault of his in a lot of games; moan over.

Link

Without going OTT, this team is getting better week by week. And that pass inside by Bernard for first goal was perfectly in his stride.

And... we have choices!

Moshiri must have loved that!

No it will not. The game against Chelsea will be worth the same amount of points as those won today. Every match is judged on its own merits. We're winning matches, playing well, week-in and week-out. Only done in by poor refereeing against Man Utd. It's clear to anyone watching we are going in the right direction and Chelsea will just be one more match.

I have always admired Coleman and hoped he would get back to playing and for him to get to this stage shows great character. However, other players have had poor form and lost their places (Tosun, Holgate spring to mind).

He is getting the plaudits from many of those who had the temerity to criticise him. It works both ways.

Let's all hope he continues to improve. Who knows, the criticism may have spurred him on to greater things.

The new Arteta!

I disagree. If we want to become a top side rather than just monopolise the best of the worst/7th place then we need to win a few take notice matches like the one coming up against Chelsea. We then play Liverpool and Man City in the following two away games. So plenty of opportunities coming up.

Seems we played very well. Thrilled for Seamus.

One thing about the game, but not really about the game at all,... And I've mentioned this before, and might do 100 times again in the future.

As we were driving to my boy's game, I put on the official feed. Before the moment of silence, I said to my son, "Listen to this - NO-ONE will make a single peep."

Deafening silence. Not a cough, a throat-clear, a shuffle - nothing.

After the silence, my kid said, "That's amazing!" I followed up with, "THAT'S how you do it and show respect."

Every single moment of silence brings a very slight tear to my eye. It's done so, so perfectly and reverently in England, and Goodison does it superbly. Near forty thousand (for effect, forty thousand) people and not a pin dropped.

It's become one of my favorite things in all of sport.

It's something I think every English, Irish, Northern Irish, Welsh, and Scottish fan should be very, very proud of.

It's a jaw-droppingly beautiful thing, and I'm glad my son's first exposure to such raw class and respect was heard being done at Goodison.

Awesome.

We are playing some dazzling football and for me we are the best of the rest even though I applaud Bournemouth, Wolves and I think West Ham and Watford are decent.

But what we really need or what I would love is to see us go to one of these top six venues and get a statement result that makes the top sides take notice.

People say we are a work in progress and it's too early to expect that, yes we are a work in progress but we are playing well enough to go and get a result against a top side there's no doubt about that, we don't have to wait for that and we shouldn't have to.

Look, Bournemouth won 3-0 at Chelsea earlier this year and we are better now than Bournemouth were in February so why can't we go and make a real statement of intent somewhere?

I think we can.

The progress is clear to see throughout the team and with the results that have followed after the team has gotten healthy and beginning to come together. This isn't about where we are after 12 matches or 14 matches or 20 matches. It's about what we are doing to become competitive with the best in the coming years. And nothing so far has shown me that Brands and Silva aren't working toward that goal. Chelsea is just another match.

Stephen, they (Barca) will certainly want a decent fee for the lad (£25m?) but we can always offload the likes of Niasse, Schneiderlin and Vlasic to cover that.

Like you, she is in total awe of the 'hear a pin drop' silence. The first time I called her attention to it, she asked me if there was something wrong with the audio setting, or had I muted the sound? She literally jumped when, at the end of the minute's silence, the 40,000 crowd roared and applauded, so unexpected was the moment for her.

This is totally alien in Brazilian culture. Yes, the players wear black arm bands. Yes, both teams line up around the centre circle. Yes, the referee blows the whistle to signify the start and end of the minute's silence. And yes, the TV commentators make mention of it.

But there the similarities end. There is zero, but ZERO observance by the match day crowd. Partisan chanting continues unabated. Flags and banners wave. The Samba bands continue to play.

This is the case, even if the memorial is dedicated to one of the competing teams own former players.

As your 9-year-old commented, the universal respect shown by 40,000 individuals at an emotional event such as a football match in the UK is truly 'amazing' and a credit to the attendees.

There is now a will to go forward in the team, and that's something we did not really see last season.

I'm glad Coleman is back in the shop. His injury took its toll on him, like it usually does. He offers plenty when in form.

Perhaps we should be worried about our poor dead-ball handling? But, for now, we should be satisfied.

And for those who say Brighton were poor, I say we made them poor by hunting them down in packs when they had the ball. We did almost everything right apart from missing the cross for their goal.
If we play like this away, then Chelsea are going to have a game on their hands.

The team looks solid and we have strength and tactical options off the bench. Proud to be Blue with the minute's silence today, eerie silence – as it should be.

I feel he is greatly under appreciated by many fans, he gets criticised as being limited, even seen posts calling him 'not Premier League level'. Which is just ridiculous. Look at the criticism he got after being wrongly penalised at Man Utd, the ref made a mistake, yet fans still criticised Gueye.

Gueye is essential to this team, to how Silva wants us to play. His energy, his pressing is just amazing. Look at the ball at any given time, and Gueye is there, how he has the engine is just a miracle.

Brilliant player, irreplaceable and first name on our team sheet. I really hope Davies is studying his teammates game, because this is what Davies should aspire to be.

I'm definitely with your wife (and you) on this one.

Here in the US, you'll always get some wisenheimer yelling out, or some shuffling, a cough, a section starting a quiet chant – something.

The minute's silence in the UK is just beautiful. I can think of no other word to describe it.

And it absolutely has an inexplicable emotional affect on me. It's one hell of a powerful minute.

And all the Blue participants should be proud. It represents them very well to a global audience.

Class.

The feel good factor is back amongst the fans. And most importantly, the negativity has disappeared.

We are beginning to gel. Continuity is paying off and we are playing some sublime football from back to front.

Close behind him was Gomes. He brings assurance, calmness and incisive passing to midfield, something we've been lacking for years.

Colin (#32), I hope you're correct and we manage to sign him. He's a huge talent.

That's not to say they let the team down but sometimes they were not used in certain attacks when Digne and Coleman were well forward. Luckily the half-time talk seemed to have worked as they came out smokin' in the second half. What a powerful finisher they now have in Richarlison!!!

Four wins out of five with that toughie at Old Trafford that should have been at least a point. There were also games against Wolves and Bournemouth that should have produced more but, all-in-all, this team is way ahead of what Koeman and Allardyce were turning out last season.

Gomes is looking like a real good acquisition.

We had some very good performances but little Gana was absolutely brilliant the longer the game went on today.

I thought the minute's silence was impeccable, the Last Post brings back memories of a funeral of one of my old football mates who lost his life in Northern Ireland and, despite my bad memory, I saw his face very vividly for the first time in years today.

Very sad, but also very touching, and it's also great to see the vibe returning to Goodison Park, especially when the floodlights come on and Richarlison scores two goals of real beauty and I think how far we have come since we beat Silva's Watford this time last year!

I've also been thinking about ToffeeWeb's great character George McKane, I haven't read anything inspiring from the great man lately; I hope he's okay, and I also hope “The Toffees” have inspired him today.

I love Digne – understated, quiet, undemonstrative but what a player. Gana immense again. And a nice partnership developing between Keane and Zouma. Richarlison hard as nails and no little skill (somebody on the Live Forum thanked Richarlmum and Richarldad for Richarlson!).

Conversely it saddens me now 5 years in the USA and whilst I do understand there are cultural differences so many events are spoilt in the fashion you describe.

Working in sport I'm exposed to it all the time.

But it is a thing of stunning beauty, hair standing on end and the roar of the crowd at the end following a cresendo of respect.

Nice one JaC!

That's entirely fair.

I'd guess that his celebration was less about responding to internet forums and more about his own understanding of where his form has been at. He doesn't need anyone to tell him that he hasn't got back to top form after a potentially career ending injury.

Richarlison was brilliant, as was Gana and Gomes in centre-mid. Walcot was lively, Bernard looked decent too and was a little unfortunate to get taken off (although expected as subs need doing and he was probably not quite as good as the others), Sigurdsson worked really hard but wasn't his sublime best if I'm honest.

The lads at centre-half were excellent too, Keane especially.

Digne and Coleman were both at it al game too, truth be known we should have hit at least 5 today.

Great to see Lookman getting a few extra minutes now too, and Mina even got a run out.

Going the Everton match now is enjoyable, me and my boys are back to being excited going the game.

Keep it up blues.

But special mention to Keane. Nobody demonstrates more how a player can be affected by confidence. So unsure last season but growing by the week. He was immense today. Won almost everything in the air, intercepted and out-muscled virtually everything else Brighton had to offer and constantly threaded passes through midfield. Superb.

I don't even think it was so much down to confidence last season with Keane, he suffered a catastrophic injury that possibly could have ended his career, awful luck when you have just signed for a new club.

He also wasn't helped that for large chunks of last season he was partnered by the walking disaster that was Ashley Williams and we had Cuco Martina playing left back.

This season we are seeing the Michael Keane that we knew we were buying and the one that Klopp wanted at Liverpool in the same summer.

As a result we are watching a new team and a more attractive brand of football, the key to which is the pace and quality of Richarlison and Walcott in attack supported by the guile of Gomes in midfield. Digne and Zouma have settled in well while Keane is looking more like a £25m centre back after overcoming last season's foot injury. Sigurdsson is benefiting from playing centrally. Thankfully Pickford is having less to do, at least in our home matches.

We should however resist getting carried away. Three successive home wins have come against opponents we should expect to beat; a poor Fulham team, while Crystal Palace and Brighton were both easily beaten earlier this year with Allardyce in charge. We defeated a Leicester team on their own pitch only after they were reduced to ten men.

With the focus on attack we continue to concede goals far too easily. That is less of a problem at Goodison facing teams in the lower half of the table but we will continue to be punished when up against the stronger teams especially away from home.

At the other end of the pitch not enough promising moves are converted into chances and efforts on target. More ruthlessness is required, not only from the forwards but also from the rest of the team. We have been heavily dependent on Richarlison and Sigurdsson to score our goals so it was good to see Seamus get on the scoresheet today.

I now hope to see an improvement in away results but in all probability that will not happen this side of Christmas. At least we look secure in mid table which was far from the case twelve months ago.

As much as I want to celebrate things:

Man City can put out a second string side that would likely finish in the top six of the Premier League.

This is what Everton are up against.

To be anything more than a “Leicester City”, we have to build a squad that will be almost impossible to beat, not just a first eleven.

A good scoreline, an entertaining game, Evertonian, Brighton fan or not. The "Impartial" producers of Match of The Day must agree, as we were promoted one place in the running order; next to last.

Just enjoy the moment. We had a good win... that's all. Because of that, I will now fully enjoy the weekend.

Will we become a great Premier League champion team? Who knows ? I have watched Everton since 1947 and I have seen us win the league and the cup. If we do that again I will be delighted, but at the present time I am delighted because we beat Brighton 3-1.

Don't look too far ahead because all you will do is trip over your own feet. Celebrate the small steps while you still can.

Referees.

Guys I share your views re poor refereeing at Man Utd last week.

I have attended 5 of our 6 home fixtures and IMO I am yet to see a referee strong enough to get a grip of any of the away sides.

Southampton: Lee Mason allowed them to kick us up in the air and waste time repeatedly, typical Mark Hughes who will use bully boy tactics without fear of sanction. Yes it's a mans game, but we got no protection from Mason.

Huddersfield: Stuart Atwell
they continually wasted time, feigned injury, came for a draw and got it. Atwell allowed Huddersfield to pull all the tricks in the book without sanction. Early days at the time, but still poor refereeing.

West Ham: Martin Atkinson
Least said the better, they ripped us apart so a bit unfair to criticise the ref on this one.

Fulham: Roger East
I accept that they caved in, in the second half, but East never got a grip of the petty fouls and time wasting.

Palace: Anthony Taylor
Didn't attend so unfair to comment.

Brighton: David Coote
Who? Poor decision making by him and his assistants, a bit out of his depth I feel.

However, great result today throughout the whole team.

Definitely on the up, and a point next week at least is on the cards IMO.

I am glad to be eating my hat about Gana, as he is becoming immense with each passing game.

If anyone's wondering who he might be, he's the one who's surrounded himself for years with yes-men non-entities at the coaching end of the club whilst seeking the "assistance" of financial sharks for the alleged "benefit" of the club (rather than his own financial killing of course) who'd pillage their own mother's pocket for an extra bob.

Hopefully he's shown the door very soon. His presence stinks the place out in terms of our world-wide credibility, Farhad.

Great to see positivity on here again. I have a good feeling about this season.

For me, Gana was the best man on the pitch, and I doubt anyone had as good a performance as him today in any league.

Gana, Gomes and Gylfi complement each other so well and, for the first time in a long while, we have a balanced midfield. Gana and Gylfi are able to play their natural roles because Gomes has come in. He is the piece of the puzzle that was missing.

There have been a few really balanced posts here that get it spot on. Coleman is a hugely popular player, a captain, a smashing guy and a very decent footballer. We are lucky to have him at our club. But he isn't beyond the odd balanced bit of criticism, for pity's sake, and it's just daft to see the shite being written about his goal celebration.

Why do fans “deserve” that disrespect in his deliberate goal celebration? Why? So a few idiots were abusive. Ignore them, all players get stick when things go wrong. Mostly it's reasonable, even if angry but the keyboard morons will always exist.

Shay is a captain and has to deal with it better. He's a wonderful asset to our club, I rate him very highly but hey, he's been a bit crap at times this season and last. He's back after a terrible injury. He doesn't quite look at the races some games but today he was really very decent.

That injury has clearly had a deep impact and he may never be quite the player he was. Or he will, like others, deliver at his usual high standard in an improving squad. I hope it's the latter but if Schneiderlin or Keane of last season had done that celebration today, there would be a very different reaction.

It's okay to say someone's off their game, it's just a view and it's often a view formed not just on one match but a number. Get over it, Coleman, your a star and highly respected here, put the dummy back in and carry on with performances like today. You were gutsy, clever, and worked your heart out and got a lovely goal. We love you, okay... so take the hands away from the ears, please.

For what it's worth, I don't see a player who is at that level.

He's still struggling with some parts of his game since his horrific leg break. Good luck to the man. May he long wear the Everton #2 shirt.

In regard to Gomes, I reckon he will sign for us. There's just that look of enjoyment on his face many times during the games, even when the move hasn't quite worked.

Digne looks quality as does Zouma. Richarlison's play speaks volumes so no need to comment. But what about Sigurdsson's and Gana's performances and, yeah, Keane's.

It is fantastic to see the team playing this kind of football (Soccer for my fellow Aussies)!

COYB! That first goal was sheer class!

Much as I wanted Mina in the last window, I think it is a real shame that the partnership of Keane and Zouma has to be dismantled for the Chelsea game. They look perfectly matched.

Good performances throughout the team but my Man of the Match was Gueye. He has got some motor.

All very encouraging. Nice to see Chris Hughton praise Everton as a top side and acknowledge they were simply out-classed this time out (after winning 3 on the bounce).

Bournemouth and Watford both very unlucky to lose on Saturday... but they are the clubs we need to get past (but I would have wanted Bournemouth to beat Man Utd anyway... I still have hopes we can finish above Man Utd despite losing the 6-pointer last weekend).

That is a sign of a top team.

I was delighted for Seamie and he can cup his ears, do a mooney and launch an almighty raspberry for all I care. I am glad to see he really put in a good performance and I hope for his sake this is the start of a resurgence in form.

I feared we had seen the last of the dangerous marauding RB of old. The curse of injuries cutting down our best players in their prime has a long history at our club. Southall, Ratcliffe, Sheedy, Bracewell, Arteta, Jags were lost to long stretches of bad injuries at their very peak, often missing key games in the process.

I'm not sure what say Gomes will have when it involves Barca, however, I can't see Bayern outbidding us, and would Barca sell to Real? I doubt it. Fingers crossed he looks real quality and appears very happy at Everton.

Another downside of dealing with Barca is the 2-year buy-back clause for Mina. Sod's law says that, if they don't want him back, they will make it awkward for us to keep him! Time will tell.

We have got 3 quality players from Barca, so hopefully Brands is keeping his powder dry in respect of any future dealings he may have in place with them.

We will miss Zouma next week; the lad has surprised me at how good he is. Last season at Stoke, he looked pretty average in a relegated team.

3rd game in a row that Bernard hasn't looked good. He obviously has talent; maybe he is better suited playing inside and should drift in more. Lookman can't be far off starting on the left.

Nice to see Duffy clapping the Park End after the game; he still has affection for the club.

Now that we have a few guns of our own and have put the knives away, I am looking forward to testing ourselves against Chelsea next week.

Coyb.

Gana Gueye & Gomes, our GGG (for anyone of a boxing persuasion) in midfield really glue this team together. Gana doing all the legwork, his tenacity & tackling yesterday was off the scale.

Gomes is a Rolls-Royce of a footballer, absolute quality, you can see why Barca bought him. He has the touch, vision, power, quality in either foot, movement when he receives the ball, passing, you name it, the kid has it. He's exactly what we're lacked for years in midfield, a player who really can run the game, control the tempo and keep it ticking over. The way he collects the ball and gets himself into position immediately is the very thing we've lacked to keep moving the ball quickly. Too many pedestrian passers over the years. We need to sign him.

Silva is picking the right team every week, a settled outfit with pace, power and a lovely balanced look to it with decent backup on the bench. I can't remember the last time I said that about an Everton team!

Walcott needs to do more off the ball, instead of standing still, Theo should be dragging players out of position and of course giving Coleman more protection.

ps: I hope Silva has bigger bollocks than Martinez. Happy Blue Boy.

I totally agree... in fact, it was probably the criticism that stung Seamus into his best game for some time.

That should not detract from an excellent team performance with Gana outstanding and Richarlison not far behind him.

Yes, we're beating teams we 'should be beating' — but that's the point. Get on a roll, winning against those teams, and build momentum for the inevitable win against a 'top' side.

We need to be more ruthless in both boxes if we're going to progress the way we want. Right now, I'm enjoying watching us and there's evidence to be optimistic.

On another note, where's Darren Hind? Is he okay?

It seemed to me he cupped his ears in an, "I know I've not been up to my / your standards, lemme hear ya!"

I thought it was entirely positive to ignite the crowd.

Just my opinion.

A lot of talk about a lot of various players, all positive. I think Richarlison deserves a mention. Class.

"Can't pass" Gana seems to be on his game as well. I always liked the kid and couldn't understand some of the comments directed at him previously.

And Paul @ 91 - Yes, where is Darren Hind?

I hope he plays like that against us next week but knowing our luck...

To quote Father Jack: "Arse!" Seamus may not have been at his best since coming back from his injuries.... but seriously, "atrocious"?!?

Seamus's form is ordinary at best. Not the level we want anymore.

Agree completely. The fact is Barkley was playing exactly like he was when he was with us. If he is observed closely he has been playing like that all season for Chelsea. He is a good average footballer at best and we don't really miss him at all this season. I hope he is in their team next week.

I was watching Barkley, Michael, and nothing much has changed, except he didn't even try and go past anyone all day.

He said he's only just starting to learn the game, but the only thing he does naturally is when he plays “off the cuff” or maybe it was just one of them days!

Are you two serious?

Get a life guys, Seamus played a blinder, along with the rest of the team.

Were either of you there, because I was, and you are both bang out of order!!!

Digne is a top quality left-back, Gueye was the second-best player in the pitch after Gomes who's my pick for MotM, he was sensational all game pure class, just the partner Gueye has been crying out for since he arrived and he will get better.

Anyone seen Merson? He's on the missing.

Are they due to do an Everton next week?

Take your point; I have reread Sam's post and reserve my comments for Brian!

Apologies, Sam.

He's now starting to look like the player we paid the fee for. I thought his ball to Richarlison for the 1st goal was sublime. That, added to the goals he's getting, is a real bonus.

As for Gomes, how good does this kid look? He seems to have taken to the Premier League like a fish to water and he complements Gueye in the engine room. Compare him to when Schneiderlin plays alongside him. At least Silva has seen through that pairing and knows it doesn't work... Thank God!

Onwards and Upwards

Lots of good performances but I'll give my MotM to the player I have always supported and who should be one of the first names on the team sheet: Gana.

Having Gomes is a great 'get out' for Gana knowing he'll be nearby, ready and willing to accept a pass, even in a tight situation, and therefore more confident to look forward to see what else is on.

Without wanting to nitpick individual performances, Brighton are a below average Premier League team who still managed to score an all-too-simple goal from a set-piece and looked dangerous on others.

Id like to be more confident at both defending and attacking set pieces and, as Pickford isn't a big commanding goalkeeper, the defenders need to be. So I'm really looking forward to a proper test against an in-form Chelsea and seeing how good Mina is.

As always, I'll accept a loss against a top team with World class players in as long as we are able to put in a good performance, playing attractive attacking football when possible to cause them problems.

Richarlison will not get the time and space upfront against Chelsea and I think he should play on a wing with Walcott dropped for Calvert-Lewin and play on the counter-attack. Let's see what happens.

As I said last week, he is not going to get any quicker and will now rely on his experience and right now he is still way ahead of young Kenny. He is 30 so of course this "new" Everton will be / are looking at replacements right now.

Good result yesterday but, as others have pointed out, it was Brighton we were playing.

Michael @ 96.

I don't think Barkley will make the grade as a top top player, he is just too inconsistent (even with better players round him), I could be wrong but when I have watched this Chelsea team it seems to me that there are a few Chelsea players reluctant to pass the ball to him.

I hope he plays against us and has a nightmare, scores three own goals and runs into a football post while following up on the penalty that Pickford will save; however, being an Evertonian Murphy's law usually has a say!

But I would still have him in the team for a host of reasons including his experience, his passion, his leadership and his ability to deliver a performance like yesterday.

Perspective!

Still it was a fine win against a team not highly rated but in good form defensively before Saturday.

Obviously we would all like the Blues to step up to the next level and beat one of the top teams particularly away so why not Chelski on Sunday ?

When that landmark is reached perhaps then we can say welcome to the big bash but in the meantime 4 wins in 5 games ain't too shabby.

Yes it is but he is certainly heading in the right direction. I only hope Tom Davies is watching and learning.

Also, how about a shout for Bernard who I thought played really well. Remember it was his pass to Sigurdsson that allowed him to pass it to Richarlison for our first goal.

Not to mention his cross for the sitter Walcott missed. He really puts in the effort and appears to be happy to be at Everton. Looks like the blue bug has bit him.

That's always the starting point and something we seemed to have lost in recent years.

So Yerri, no pressure on you then mate as you go on to prove that M&M in summer this year went out and completed the most successful bout of recruitment by any club in the whole history of "transfer windows"!!

I keep games taped and watch after the emotion has rebalanced.

Just some things I noticed.

1. The boss never plays to camera and is v thoughtful as game goes on. To me...a great sign. Seems to know what we, and he, wants.

2. Look at that first goal. What struck me in an attack that was so good, was Bernard passed forward into Siggs path. And...Siggs was running forward in that move, and in others earlier. This is v different to what we have digested for years...the sideways or backwards pass.

3. The spirit. Watch them when we score. This is a team at last. Who did he hug after his second? A player not on pitch!

So, sorry for hanging onto the past!

But hey. Good progression?

Chelsea? Don't yet expect a point there but, this time I think there may be a chance.

Haven't felt that for a wee while.

"Hi,

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm that no further action will be taken against Anthony Martial.

The FA assess whether there is a clear and overwhelming case of successful deception of a match official before referring to the panel.

The Martial incident does not meet this high threshold.

Football is a game of opinions and we thank you for taking the time to write and share your opinions with us."

Kind regards