Theo Walcott provided the reward for early pressure when stabbing home from a rehearsed free-kick after 15 minutes, latching onto Morgan Schneiderlin’s disguised pass. Walcott then turned provider as Richarlison doubled the lead, battling his marker and sending a header thumping past Alex McCarthy for his third Everton goal in two games.
Everton held off a resurgent Southampton side to mark Marco Silva’s first competitive home match as Toffees boss with victory at Goodison Park. Before the break, Jordan Pickford produced a remarkable sprawling save to deny Danny Ings when his own error had left the striker an open goal to aim at.
But the former Liverpool man did find the net nine minutes after half-time when turning home from a clever Mario Lemina flick at James Ward-Prowse’s corner.
Ings was totally unmarked in the six-yard box, and his goal opened a far more positive period for Southampton, but it was Walcott who should have sealed the points for Everton with 20 minutes to play.
The 29-year-old was played in by a delightful Gylfi Sigurdsson improvised flick, but fired horribly wide from inside the box.
Instead it was a nervy end to a game that should have been far more comfortable Everton, with Pickford punching a fierce Ward-Prowse free-kick clear of his near post as Southampton pressed for a later equaliser.
Source: BBC News