Frank Lampard guided Everton to a smash and grab victory over former side Chelsea on Sunday to boost their chances of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
Star striker Richarlison scored two minutes into the second half after Cesar Azpilicueta was caught dawdling on the ball, making it an afternoon to forget on Merseyside for Thomas Tuchel 's men. The Blues huffed and puffed until the end, but one man stood in their way time and time again.
Jordan Pickford pulled off three spectacular saves late on among other vital interventions to deny the visitors a draw, as the Toffees went within two points of safety and emphatically responded to Burnley 's dramatic win at Watford on Saturday.
Here are six talking points from Goodison Park.
1. Rowdy welcome
Fitting for a match of this magnitude, the competitive nature was under way well before kick-off. On Saturday night, Everton fans let off fireworks outside Chelsea's hotel. Midfielder Jorginho and his teammates were disturbed from a good night's sleep, telling Sky Sports : "It was a bit noisy. I woke up, I was like - what's that noise? But we were aware that it could happen."
And on the day of the game, the Toffees' team bus was welcomed to a sea of blue smoke as supporters let off flares as the coach pulled into Goodison Park. Captain Seamus Coleman was appreciative of the backing and said: "It's a massive boost for the lads coming in and seeing that support.
"I don't think that's every in question with Evertonians, we understand the love they have for their club and they wanted to show it in the best way they could."
2. Tensions boil
When the actual football got going, opportunities to score were at a premium. Everton were defending resolutely, limiting the Blues to a slew of half-chances. Instead, much of the entertainment came off the ball, with the tough Toffees getting under Chelsea's skin, who weren't happy with referee Kevin Friend's performance.
Thomas Tuchel took issue with one decision after Anthony Gordon was softly taken out by a combination of Jorginho and Antonio Rudiger, the latter of whom was booked for a wild challenge in the 17th minute. There was then a flashpoint just before the break, as Mason Mount received a yellow card for a sly push on Yerry Mina.
The foul led to both sets of players getting in each other's faces on the halfway line, with opposite skippers Coleman and Cesar Azpilicueta visibly disagreeing with one another. The pair were pulled apart and both booked for their behaviour, adding more spice to make up for the lack of goals in the the hotly-contested affair.
3. Mixed half-time emotions
When Friend blew his whistle for half-time, it was Frank Lampard who headed down the Goodison Park tunnel the happier manager against his old employers. His Everton had been perfectly aggressive, hassling the Blues with the optimum level of intensity required to face the world champions.
The Toffees' snappy first 45 minutes was summarised by the fact they ran two-and-a-half kilometres more than the visitors, who boasted 75 per cent possession but could only muster one shot. The travelling fans were left frustrated, but the home crowd were pleased with a performance reminiscent of their vital 1-0 victory over Manchester United four weeks ago.
Employing the same gnarly approach as in last weekend's 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Lampard got his dogged side to complete twice as many successful passes as they managed in the first half at Anfield, demonstrating an upgrade on the ball. They even managed a higher expected goals statistic than Chelsea. So far, so good for Everton - and it was about to get even better.
4. Ruthless Richarlison
As the half-time debate ensued whether or not a point would be a positive result for the Toffees, Lampard's team came out of the blocks flying and scored within two minutes through Richarlison. With the Blues dallying around the back, the Brazilian and his teammates pressed with intent and stole the ball from a sleepy Azpilicueta on the edge of the penalty area.
From there, Everton's No.7 had the simple task of slotting past Edouard Mendy, which he did with ease. The roof was raised at Goodison Park and would've been ripped right off if left-back Vitalii Mykolenko hadn't squandered a guilt-edged chances within minutes of the Toffees taking the lead.
The moment was somewhat marred as Richarlison found himself in hot water after throwing a flare back into the stands. Lampard and co were in front, nevertheless, with almost a full half of football to play.
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5. Pick that out
To no one's surprise, Chelsea responded in search of an equaliser, and came within inches of doing so through Mason Mount, Azpilicueta and Rudiger. But in a passage of play that felt seismic in the Toffees' season, Jordan Pickford pulled off three top-class saves. As Mount rattled both posts with a rasping shot that Pickford saved, the stopper scrambled across his goal to make another block and somehow kept Azpilicueta's effort out on the line thanks to his incredible reactions.
Then came a corner kick which fell to Rudiger, whose effort was also goal-bound before Pickford's face got in the way. Throwing himself in front of ball, England's first-choice goalkeeper reminded us of big-game ability, miraculously keeping the Blues at bay.
6. Survival response
While Chelsea have a top-four finish all but secure, the result was by far more important for Everton. Lampard's current club are now two points behind Burnley with a game in hand, having gone five adrift of safety on Saturday afternoon with as many games to go. Although the Toffees' four-game fixture list is far from favourable, the kind of performance on show here stands them in good stead.
Desire, courage and bravery were all personified in their disciplined display, doing a number of the Blues as they did against United and came close to doing across town a week ago. There's still a long way to go in the race for survival - like in the seven minutes of added time - but with this win, the grand old team have given themselves a huge boost.
