A late flourish turned an even contest into a comfortable three points as Everton opened 2017 with a 3-0 win against Ronald Koeman's former club, Southampton.
Goals from Enner Valencia, Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku ensured seven points from a possible nine over a hectic but productive festive period featuring three games in the space of eight days. This home win went some way to atoning for the November reverse fixture that saw Everton concede after just 41 seconds and post only one shot on target in the entire match.
Positives
There are signs the Blues are finding their feet in front of goal, scoring two or more in five of the last six league games.