Arouna Kone scored a hat-trick as Everton thumped Sunderland 6-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Goals from Gerard Deulofeu and Kone had left the Toffees 2-0 ahead after 31 minutes, but Sunderland drew level early in the second half when Steven Fletcher followed up Jermain Defoe's effort before the break.
It was all Everton that moment forward, however, with an own goal from Sebastian Coates making it 3-2, before Romelu Lukaku added the home side's fourth just past the hour.
The hosts, who have moved into eighth in the table, were not finished, however, as Kone added two more to complete his treble and keep Sunderland in the relegation zone.
Match statistics
EVERTON
Shots: 15
On target: 8
Possession: 72%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 6
SUNDERLAND
Shots: 17
On target: 9
Possession: 28%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 5
Was the result fair?
Statistics rarely paint a false picture in football and the fact that Everton had 68% of the possession is a good indication that they were in control of the game for long spells. While that was the case, Sunderland actually had more attempts - both on and off target - and could well have been 2-0 ahead before the home team got started. There is no question that Sunderland deserved to draw level early in the second 45 minutes, but their team started to unravel in the second period.
Everton should be praised for an excellent attacking performance, but there were simply too many gaps in Sunderland's back five, which was a back three for long spells of the contest. There were actually a lot of positives for Sunderland, which seems a bizarre statement after losing 6-2, but they had Everton worried for stages of the contest. When taking into account everything that occurred at Goodison, Everton deserved to win, but 6-2 might be a little harsh on the Black Cats.
Everton's performance
It has been a difficult start to the season for the Toffees, certainly on paper and indeed on the pitch. They entered this match in the bottom half of the table, but with a decent run of fixtures ahead, victory here could have been the start of a rise up the table. It was a sloppy start from the Toffees, however, with Sunderland rattling the post twice inside the opening 14 minutes. The home side's first came against the run of play and it was poor defending from the visitors that allowed Deulofeu to sneak in and open the scoring. At that stage of the match, Sunderland were all over the place at the back.
The hosts doubled their lead just past the 30-minute mark when Kone found the top corner, but the response from Sunderland was strong and they deserved to register late in the first period through Defoe, who took advantage of some slack defending from John Stones. Everton's defensive problems were shown once again early in the second half when Fletcher levelled, but the response from Roberto Martinez's side was very strong indeed. An own goal from Coates made it 3-2 in the 55th minute and five minutes later it was game over when Lukaku rounded Costel Pantilimon to score.
Deulofeu, Lukaku and Kone continued to cause havoc as the second half progressed and two more goals for Kone completed his hat-trick and made it a terrible afternoon for Sunderland. There were still some slack moments defensively from the Toffees, but the likes of Ross Barkley and Gareth Barry had super games in the middle of the park and with Lukaku in this type of form, it spells bad news for opposing teams. It has not quite been the start to the season that the club's supporters would have envisaged, but this was much more like it and all signs now point to a rise up the league table.
Sunderland's performance
Having beaten Newcastle United 3-0 last weekend, the Black Cats would have entered this game full of confidence. That was indeed the case as they hit the woodwork twice in the opening 15 minutes, with Patrick van Aanholt and Adam Johnson both coming close to registering. They started like a house on fire in the final third, but it did not take long for defensive issues to crop up, with a back five, which included Wes Brown, Coates and Billy Jones, really struggling on Merseyside.
There was pace in the wing-back roles through Van Aanholt and DeAndre Yedlin, but neither looked comfortable going backwards and the lack of legs in the three centre-backs made it easy for Everton to threaten. Van Aanholt was completely out of position for Everton's first, while Yedlin was guilty of standing off Kone for the second goal. Sunderland must be credited for the way that they responded, however, with Defoe scoring an excellent goal in the latter stages of the first period, before a well-worked move saw Fletcher head home an equaliser. At that point, Sunderland were full of it.
They simply fell apart at the back as the game developed, however, with Kone, Lukaku and Deulofeu simply too quick and too powerful for Sunderland's back three. While all four of Everton's second-half goals were well-worked, each could be attributed to a defensive mistake and there is no question that Sam Allardyce must take some of the criticism. Duncan Watmore did not enter until the final 15 minutes, but the youngster's passion showed what his teammates were missing for long spells. It was another difficult afternoon for Sunderland, who will seemingly face another tough battle this season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Arouna Kone: In truth, this award could have easily been handed to either Deulofeu or Lukaku, but Kone's excellent hat-trick means that it has to go to him. The striker simply had too much for Sunderland's defence at Goodison as he opened the scoring with a wonderful effort, before finding the corner from a difficult angle just past the hour. The 31-year-old then completed his treble in the 76th minute when he headed home a Lukaku cross. It was a wonderful all-round performance from the former Wigan Athletic attacker.
Biggest gaffe
In truth, Sunderland's defence were really poor at Goodison and there are a number of incidents that could be picked out in relation to this category. All four of Everton's second-half goals involved some terrible defensive work, but the standout moment came in the build-up to Everton's first, with Deulofeu afforded far too much space in a wide area after Van Aanholt had given up his defensive duties. There was simply not enough communication in the away side's defence this afternoon and it ended up costing them dearly.
Referee performance
Andre Marriner had a fairly comfortable afternoon at Goodison despite the end-to-end nature of the contest. The referee rightly turned down a couple of penalty appeals and also only issued five yellow cards as he remained sensitive to the occasion. Marriner was not actually seen for long spells of the clash in Liverpool, which is often an indication of a controlled refereeing performance.
What next?
Everton: Next up for Sunderland is a trip to West Ham United next weekend.
Sunderland: The struggling Black Cats will play host to Southampton next Saturday.
Matt Law
