Everton 3-0 Leeds
by James Nalton
Goodison Park

EVERTON fans sang the name of new manager Frank Lampard at the end of a 3-0 win against Leeds on Saturday.

At that moment, the in-house broadcast of the game panned to Everton chairman Bill Kenwright, who wore a proud smile on his face on what was a rare day of happiness for all involved with the club.

The football on show hinted at more to come. Captain Seamus Coleman opened the scoring. Ask any Everton fan with whom they’d want to celebrate a goal as part of such a turnaround, and the Irishman would be top of the list.

Another first-half goal, from Michael Keane heading home Anthony Gordon’s corner, all but secured the result against a still depleted and struggling Leeds side.

Gordon, 20, has been one of the few positives during the recent bad times and here had the chance to shine in victory rather than defeat.

He rounded off his display by diverting Richarlison’s shot into the corner to get his name on the scoresheet for the third.

There were no bad performances in blue — another rarity in recent times, and each player could be mentioned in a positive manner, but it’s worth singling out Alex Iwobi and Donny van de Beek.

The former was much improved, showing flair and creativity on the right wing, while the latter controlled the centre of the park and looks like a shrewd loan signing from Manchester United.

Having lost to a Newcastle side whose league position doesn’t reflect their current quality, and defeated a struggling Leeds outfit, it might not be wise to draw conclusions either way on Lampard’s Everton just yet.

But Saturday was a positive display coupled with a positive result — something Everton haven’t experienced for a while, and a definite step in the right direction.

We’ll learn more about the impact of their new manager when they face Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton next week.