Player Ratings: Young Boys 1-4 Everton

Tim Howard - 8

A good performance from Howard, who saw a decent amount of action in Everton's 4-1 win over Young Boys despite the one-sided scoreline, including an excellent double save to preserve the Blues' lead at 2-1.

Seamus Coleman - 9

Always surging forward but never caught out at the back, Coleman gave a masterful showing at right back in Bern. After an excellent performance in the derby a couple of weeks ago, and the goal that put Everton ahead here, the signs are thathe Blues' current Player of the Season is returning to his best form at just the right time.

John Stones - 5

The only disappointment in an otherwise superb team performance, Stones demonstrated plenty of the carelessness that still creeps into his game a little too often on Thursday night. His red card was unfortunate, but deserved, and what's worrying is that it wasn't the first time he had been robbed of possession during the match. Stones is still has all the qualities of a first-class centre back, but he needs to do more to eradicate his frequent errors.

Phil Jagielka - 8

A dominant performance from Everton's captain, who was the steadying influence in defence while John Stones wobbled and the Blues' full backs raided forward.

Bryan Oviedo - 8

The defensive solidity that Oviedo showed against Young Boys was perhaps the most pleasing element of his performance. The Costa Rican is always dangerous going forward - as he demonstrated with his involvement in two of Everton's goals and a number of additional chances - but he also did an excellent job of keeping the Swiss side's wide forwards quiet throughout.

James McCarthy - 7

McCarthy was solid once again for Everton, though for once he was outshone by his more senior midfield partner. While Gareth Barry was an unlikely creative force going forward, McCarthy was left to deal with the brunt of Young Boys' forward forays - a job he was mostly successful in completing.

Gareth Barry - 9

Following on from a terrible red-card performance against Chelsea, it stood to reason that Gareth Barry could only get better. What was more surprising was the fact that the veteran midfielder gave a really fantastic performance, both in stifling Young Boys' attacks, and in providing two unlikely assists for Romelu Lukaku.

Ross Barkley - 9

Is Ross Barkley back? One great performance does not a comeback make, but Barkley really was phenomenal on Thursday night. Orchestrating the midfield play behind Romelu Lukaku, scrambling past opponents and unleashing a number of fine shots - the only thing missing was a goal. Those will come; in the meantime, though, let's hope that Ross can maintain this level in the weeks to come.

Kevin Mirallas - 7

Not as integral as he has been at times to Everton's attack, Mirallas still provided a dangerous and skilful outlet nonetheless. He might not have contributed much in the way of scoring opportunities himself, but his runs and neat link-up play helped create valuable space for Lukaku, Naismith and Barkley et al.

Steven Naismith - 8

Naismith was instrumental in Seamus Coleman's goal and busy amongst Everton's forward line, even while competing for space with Barkley and Lukaku. But the forward's value was demonstrated further in his tireless backtracking; just as frequently winning possession deep in his own half as getting involved in the opposition's.

Romelu Lukaku - 10

Yes he could have had six or seven, but to complain about the missed chances (most of which came after he had already wrapped up a clinical perfect hat-trick) would be to do a disservice to Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian dug a wonderful headed goal out of Gareth Barry's deep floated cross to equalise, before showing his skill as both a penalty box poacher and pacy powerhouse with his second and third strikes. Rom has been hit-and-miss this season, but he now has 13 goals in all competitions. Would you bet against him reaching 20?

Subs

Luke Garbutt

Introduced after Oviedo came up short on Stade de Suisse's artificial surface, Garbutt once again demonstrated a level of talent completely unbefitting of a third-choice left back. Leighton Baines is likely to return against Leicester City on Sunday, but provided he doesn't decide to pursue a more immediate path to first-team football elsewhere, Garbutt remains one of the Everton academy's most promising graduates.

Antolin Alcaraz

Helped steady the ship following Stones' red card, and did well alongside Jagielka in snuffing out any Young Boys chances in the closing minutes.

Christian Atsu

Had little opportunity to shine in his late cameo, but the fact that he played at all is encouraging. Atsu has had a fairly torrid time at Everton, but a superb showing for Ghana at the Cup of Nations could provide the impetus for an improved end to the campaign. Here's hoping.