Beto's bonanza turns the new manager bounce into a leap

David Moyes maintains the momentum to dispatch Leicester City back to the Championship

Some things just fit perfectly. After the awkward and often frustrating Sean Dyche era came to a close, David Moyes has slipped back into the Goodison hot seat with more comfort than his favourite jeans, ready to lead his team away from the Premier League trap door and into their brand-new stadium with a real sense of optimism.

Everton repeated the feat of their last home game against Spurs, rocketing out of the blocks with two goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto in the opening six minutes to stun Leicester City, including the fourth-fastest strike in the history of the Premier League. The Portuguese scored his second inside 45 minutes - halfway to equalling his tally from his first 44 league games at the club.

While the North Londoners caused nerves with two late goals, this time the lead increased in the second half, as Iliman Ndiaye made it 4-0 on a perfect day that saw them leapfrog their last two opponents, reaching the heady heights of 15th in the table.

These two teams had benefited from a visit from Dr Tottenham in recent weeks, but it was Everton who looked revitalised, easing to a third consecutive league win for the first time since December 2023. For Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the pressure relieved by that comeback win last weekend returned with haste.

Goodison’s final countdown, fresh in the mind on every visit to this storied ground, has dropped into single figures. As the samba band celebrating 37 years of Everton in the Community banged out the beat, there was a murmur of anticipation of another good day for the resurgent Blues.

The only thing missing was a striker. Injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti meant that the only backup for Beto was the teenager Martin Sherif, called up from the Under-21s. Goals have long been Everton’s Achilles heel. In his pre-match press conference, Moyes bemoaned his inability to bring in new blood with just days remaining of the January transfer window.

The Scot would no doubt have cast jealous glances towards an apparent embarrassment of striking riches in the Midlands. Leicester City had the luxury of leaving Odsonne Edouard - who scored at a rate of nearly one in two in his five years at Celtic - out of the squad, and another loanee with an eye for a goal on the bench in Facundo Buonanotte alongside Patson Daka. They took the field with 205 Premier League goals in their arsenal, split between Jordan Ayew, Bobby De Cordova-Reid and captain Jamie Vardy, hoping to test one of the league’s meanest defences.

Initially, it appeared that strikers were overrated. From the kick-off, Jordan Pickford launched the ball towards the penalty area, landing on the chest of Doucoure. His control opened a clear lane to the six-yard box, where he fired beyond Mads Hermansen low down to his right. 10.18 seconds in, only three men out of the twenty-two had touched the ball, and Everton were ahead.

The visitors had barely five minutes to attempt to clear their heads before they were further behind. James Tarkowski fed a pass into the same channel that Doucoure utilised, and this time it was Beto who profited with a carbon copy of the Malian midfielder’s finish.

Everton swarmed over the hapless men in black. James Garner and Idrissa Gueye won every battle, unleashing wave after wave of attacks with four or five blue bodies flooding the box. An offside call against an overeager Jake O’Brien stopped them from adding a third after Jarrad Branthwaite won a header from a corner, but Everton had the game by the scruff of the neck. Victor Kristiansen blazed over when well-placed from a Leicester corner, but otherwise, their resistance was meek. Leicester's defiance was restricted to those in the away end, who ran through their songbook, with “We want Rudkin out” and “Sack the board” given the most gusto.

Referee Darren Bond waved away a decent claim for a penalty after Hermansen - not for the first time - gifted possession to Everton with a weak goal kick. Garner, making an impressive return in his first start since October, returned the ball with interest into the path of Beto, but Bond decided Jannik Vestergard’s lean shouldn’t have been enough to send the Portuguese to the floor. Moyes pushed Doucoure alongside Beto in a 4-4-2, but despite spending the majority of his Everton career close to goal, he’s not a natural finisher. Vitaly Mykolenko’s centre wasn’t given the finish it deserved as the midfielder leaned back and sent his sidefoot sailing over the bar. His strike partner spared his blushes soon after.

Garner once again was the catalyst, slicing through the wide open spaces of the Leicester defence to find Beto, who calmly placed the ball beyond Hermansen’s left hand. For the second home game in a row, the Evertonians bounced onto the concourse with a 3-0 lead, seeking refreshments to toast their team as opposed to drowning their sorrows.

Van Nistelrooy made no changes at the break, and the second began as the first had ended, with Everton in complete control. Iliman Ndiaye looked to get in on the fun, showing quick feet to shimmy between defenders only to fire his cross against James Justin.

Finally, Van Nistelrooy had seen enough. Vestergaard and Vardy - the latter serenaded by the Goodison crowd well aware of his rift with their favourite son Wayne Rooney - were replaced by Caleb Okoli and Daka. Vardy is Leicester’s top scorer this season with seven, but his nine touches in 62 minutes were unremarkable.

The gnarly veteran’s withdrawal was his biggest contribution to the occasion, sparking a back-and-forth in the crowd. The Leicester fans reminded Everton that Vardy is a Premier League champion, while the response suggested his next season will be in the Championship. On this evidence, it’s hard to argue, and the fact that Everton can confidently sing that to anyone else is evidence of the magic spell Moyes has cast across the blue half of the city.

The game entered the final quarter with no sign of the late jitters caused by Spurs. Jesper Lindstrom forced a great save from the feet of Hermansen moments before he was replaced by Ashley Young. The new right winger had barely touched the grass when Ndiaye curled a fantastic effort inches wide of the far post after Gueye had intercepted a rare promising break from Leicester.

The crowd were able to cheer the return of Tim Iroegbunam after an injury absence as long as that of the man he replaced, man of the match Garner. Beto didn’t get the chance to complete his hat trick, but instead received the biggest cheer of the day as he was replaced. Everton may only have one striker, but if he plays like this every week, he may be all that they need. Moyes admitted that he will continue to seek reinforcements, suggesting that Monday may be a late night, but he insisted that he currently has more than enough to work with:

“I’m just getting to know him. He’s a great kid, he works hard, tries to improve himself. Sometimes in life you need an opportunity, and today he got one.”

Even if Moyes and Director of Football Kevin Thelwell can recruit more forwards - discussions continue with former Southampton man Carlos Alcaraz - the expectation is that Beto will get more opportunities.

Leicester could do worse than bringing Eduoard in from the cold. A single shot on target was the headline of a toothless display. Van Nistelrooy left the door open for the Frenchman to add to his six league appearances this term:

“Of course (he can force his way back). He’s training with the team. There’s three number nines in the squad, and a decision to be made. So far it’s been Jamie and Patson, but he’s there and he can show himself every week that he’s ready to contribute.”

Ndiaye’s exclamation point was a microcosm of the afternoon. He was quicker of foot and thought to steal the ball from a dallying Okoli and wrong-foot the helpless Hermansen. A stylish cherry to place on top of a very appealing Everton cake. They now can look ahead to gaining revenge on Bournemouth in the Fa Cup before a titanic final Goodison derby midweek. A postponement that initially appeared to favour the league leaders now sees the home side entering with real belief, purpose, and goal threats across the pitch. After seven goals in two home games, Arne Slot will have his hands full in trying to contain the free-scoring blues.

For the home crowd, they can look forward to that game, and every other of a season saved from desperation by a familiar friend.