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After a poor first half where Everton struggled to make headway against some resolute Sunderland defending, manager Ronald Koeman made a halftime change pulling off Ross Barkley, and what a difference it made.
The Blues looked rejuvenated in the second period with Romelu Lukaku scoring thrice, and missing at least another hattrick’s worth of chances. His first two goals came from headers off pinpoint crosses, with his third neatly finished from a through ball.
Koeman will be as happy with the goals and the win as he must be with yet another clean sheet by the defence, who looked mostly untroubled in a game where the Toffees more than doubled their hosts time of possession.
With the win, Everton are now in third place in the Premier League table, behind the second-placed Chelsea only on goal difference. Manchester City sit atop with twelve points from four games. The Sky Blues are ahead by two points of the two sets of Blues.
Highlights video courtesy of Full Matches & Shows