Everton 3 Southampton 0: WATCH HIGHLIGHTS – Enner Valencia bags first Toffees goal before Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku put the Saints to the sword

ENNER VALENCIA found himself in the right place at the right time to grab his first Everton goal before Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku put the game beyond doubt.

After a drab first half affair, the former West Ham man poked home from close range with 20 minutes left on the clock after Lukaku's header was superbly saved by Fraser Forster.

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The goalscorer then turned provider when he won a penalty following a clumsy foul by Maya Yoshida with 10 minutes left on the clock.

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Baines stepped up and made no mistake from 12-yards before Lukaku's powerful strike handed Ronald Koeman all three points against his former club.

Southampton will feel hard done by as the scoreline didn't reflect their performance.

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Jay Rodriguez had a first half goal correctly disallowed for offside before drilling a strike into the feet of Robles in the second period with the deadlock yet to be broken.

With opportunities few and far between, Everton cranked up the pressure in the final 20 minutes and took full advantage of Southampton's tired legs.

Claude Puel's side had just 48 hours rest from their previous drubbing of Tottenham whilst Everton had an extra day and it showed.

Koeman handed Dominic Calvert-Lewis his first Everton start but it lasted just 12 minutes after he was forced off with an injury.

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Youngster Tom Davies was also handed a surprise start in midfield and grabbed an assist when he played through Lukaku at the end with a delicate pass.

The result may look convincing but there is a definite need for Koeman to invest in his squad during the January transfer window whilst Southampton endured their third successive defeat.

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FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

• THE SAINTS aren’t missing Ronald Koeman that much since his summer switch to Goodison – they started with exactly the same half – way record as last season : W6, D6, L7.
• JACK STEPHENS, 18, makes his Prem debut for Saints, the England U-21 right back on after only six minutes after Cedric Soares picked up a headinjury when he collided with advertising hoardings.
• ROMELU LUKAKU had manged only one goal in January in 12 Prem games for Everton and the way he flounced around against Saints suggested not much was going to change.
• ROSS BARKLEY clearly showed against Saints that is trying to be more aggressive and run beyond striker Romelu Lukaku but he frequently found himself up blind alleys.
• JOSE FONTE replaced banned Virgil van Dijk – valued at £50M – and the 33 year old made himself look a much cheaper alternative – the centre back’s contract is up in June.

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•  ENNER VALENCIA grabbed his first goal in 49 weeks – his 74th minute strike bridging a gap to January 23, 2016 when he scored against Manchester City for parent club West Ham.
• NATHAN REDMOND forced the save of the game out of Joel Robles after he connected with a clever 70th minute flick from Jay Rodriguez and let rip.
• FIRST START for attacker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 19,  but Everton’s £1.5M summer buy from Sheffield United lasts just 12 minutes before being forced off with ankle problems
• PHIL JAGIELKA must be feeling his number is about up at Goodison this season – the Toffees’ skipper found himself on the bench for a third time in Ronald Koeman’s 20-game reign.
• JAY RODRIGUEZ embarrassed Joel Robles mid-way through the first half, rising to force home but the goalkeeper got away with a poor attempt to save thanks to the striker’s handball.

BIG PICTURE

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SOCIAL SAYS

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

Everton: Robles 7, Coleman 7, Williams 8, Mori 7, Baines 8, Gueye 7, Davies 7, Lennon 6 (Valencia 61, 7) Calvert-Lewin 6 (Mirallas 12, 7) Barkley 7 (Barry 85, 6) Lukaku 8

Subs not used: Hewelt, Jagielka, Holgate, Cleverley

Goals: Valencia, Baines, Lukaku

Southampton: Forster 6, Cedric 6 (Stephens 6, 6) Fonte 5, Yoshida 6, McQueen 6, Clasie 6 (Long 78, 5), Romeu 6, Ward-Prowse 6, Tadic 6 (Boufal 67, 6), Redmond 6, Rodriguez 6

Subs not used: Lewis, Davis, Reed, Bertrand

Bookings: Ward-Prowse

STAR MAN: ROMELU LUKAKU 

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WHAT THEY SAID:

Southampton debutant Jack Stephens: "These things happen. It is a bad result for us and we just pick ourselves up and move on.

"It's not easy but I don't think we can use that as an excuse. We just pick ourselves up and go again.

"I thought the game was quite even, not many chances, but the first goal was important because as soon as that went in we had to take more risks."

Everton boss Ronald Koeman: "The tempo was higher in the second half, we created opportunities to score and you see the final result.

"When Enner Valencia came in it was not just about his goal, it was his whole performance - we needed that pace in the second half.

"Keeping a clean sheet is always important. We did well defensively."