Everton 2-1 Stoke City: CENK

“Can he do it on a rainy snowy day in Stoke?” is one of the classic Premier League questions of our time, particularly for new acquisitions. Well, Cenk Tosun has answered the inquiry. His answer is yes. Yes.

In Everton’s time of need - up a man, on the road, going nowhere - the Turkish striker came to the rescue.

Tosun latched onto a Dominic Calvert-Lewin rebound to emphatically put Everton into the lead. When poor set piece defending on the other end gave it back again, Cenk was there to head home the game winner from Yannick Bolasie.

He’s adjusted to the weather, if that was ever truly a problem. He’s adjusted to the team, and he’s scored 4 goals in 3 games.

It wasn’t a well played match by either side. Charlie Adam’s rather fraudulent (if we’re being honest) red card made things choppy, and the snowy weather was an utter nightmare for visibility and ball control.

Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images

Tom Davies had to be substituted after a collision with Jack Butland, and replacing him with Dominic Calvert-Lewin only made the situation messier, given that it removed Everton’s extra man in midfield.

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Cenk Tosun isn’t the hero we deserved, but he’s the hero we needed.