Half time: Brighton 0 Everton 3.
Football fans and pundits watched in sheer shock as Sean Dyche’s men tore into their hosts at the Amex.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, for once, morphed into an accomplished box-to-box midfielder, finishing off two rapid counter-attacks to give the Toffees a two-goal lead.
With five minutes left before the break, Jason Steele fumbled Dwight McNeil’s cross into his own net.
Brighton had nothing to offer in the second half. The damage had been done in the opening 45 minutes.
Full time: Brighton 1 Everton 5.
The result lifted the Blue side of Merseyside out of the relegation places and pumped up their confidence ahead of Manchester City’s visit.
For Pep Guardiola’s men, they have won their last two matches 2-1. The last time out against Leeds, Ilkay Gundgogan slammed a penalty against the woodwork. That meant that a 2-0 lead turned into 2-1 within 58 seconds.
That is both the magic and madness of the English Premier League.
It would really be intriguing to see how City turn up at Everton, with a Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid in midweek.
Guardiola may be forced to make a couple of changes. Or he might go full throttle and trust his players to get the job done early, so he can rest them for the big clash.
However, this fixture will be by no chance an easy affair.
Everton under Frank Lampard went to the Etihad and got a stunning 1-1 draw. Backed by their raucous home supporters on Sunday, they will put up a fight, as they seek to preserve their top flight status.
