Theo Walcott was the matchwinner for Everton as Sam Allardyce's men secured a much-needed three points against Leicester City.
A dangerous presence throughout, the former Arsenal man's double put the Merseysiders into a commanding two-goal lead at half-time.
Without playmaker Riyad Mahrez, Leicester struggled to mount a comeback before Wayne Rooney needlessly pulled back Wilfred Ndidi in the box and Jamie Vardy slotted home the resultant penalty.
But the hosts held on for a victory that eases lingering concerns over relegation on an evening otherwise notable for the return to action of Seamus Coleman.
Here are four things we learned from the Goodison Park encounter.
Walcott gives Everton new lease of life
It's been a familiar trope of Everton's season. With no replacement for Romelu Lukaku forthcoming in the summer, the Blues have regularly been undermined by a lack of pace and goalscoring prowess in the final third. All too often, the men from L4 have offered little-to-no threat when it really mattered.
Not now. For with the £25m January capture of Theo Walcott- a player with over 100 Premier League goals to his name- Allardyce's side finally have at least one player capable of hitting the back of the net with some sort of regularity.
Stuck in a rut and with in-form Leicester in town, Everton started the game like a side fully aware of the fact they had failed to win in any of their last seven games. Yet with the visitors initially on the front foot in the early stages, Walcott's willing running sparked something in both a quiet Goodison crowd and his teammates to swing the balance the Blues' way.
His example in pressing intelligently from the front encouraged others to follow suit, with Cuco Martina crucially winning the ball high up the pitch for Walcott's opener. The second, a poacher's finish at the back post, gave supporters a tantalising glimpse of what they've been missing for the majority of the season.
If he continues in this vein, few will question the decision to spend £25m on a soon-to-be 29-year-old.
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Leicester lack x-factor without Mahrez
No Mahrez, no party, for Leicester.
Shorn of the mercurial Algerian, who has been in superb form of late, the Foxes looked a pale imitation of the team that had previously gone unbeaten in 2018-calm and composed on the ball, but sorely missing their creator-in-chief's ability to glide past defenders and unlock opposition backlines.
Mahrez would no doubt have relished the opportunity of taking on Everton's makeshift left-back Cuco Martina. However, with a move to Manchester City falling through at the last minute, and the attacking midfielder isolated from the Foxes' squad, Claude Puel's side were given a glimpse of what a post-Mahrez era could look like at Goodison Park.
Functional without being threatening, Leicester instead resorted to throwing deep crosses into the hosts' penalty area to little avail. It played into Everton's hands, giving a one-paced backline the upper-hand over Jamie Vardy. Balls into the channel- the type routinely supplied by Mahrez- against the likes of Michael Keane instead being the order of the day.
Leicester will hope that the Algerian can quickly be reintegrated into the first-team setup. On this evidence, their status as the Premier League's 'best of the rest' very much depends on it.
Allardyce stumbles on best balance in midfield
There have been times this season where Everton manager Sam Allardyce has seemed decidedly unsure of his best combination in midfield.
Alternating between the quartet of Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye, Tom Davies and James McCarthy in the centre of the park, team selections have often posed more questions than answers of late- an absence of continuity inhibiting Everton's capacity to settle into a run of form.
No fewer than six changes were made here, but this time Allardyce stumbled on the most balanced Everton midfield witnessed in quite some time. With Idrissa Gueye sat deep breaking up play, Wayne Rooney allowed time and space in which to dictate- admittedly with mixed success- and Tom Davies adding youthful exuberance higher up, Everton appeared more confident in and out of possession.
Tougher tests await- particularly with Arsenal away on the horizon this weekend- but the trio showed enough to suggest Allardyce should persevere with them for the time being at least.
Coleman return a timely good news story
They don't come more popular among the Everton fanbase than Seamus Coleman.
Indeed, despite growing displeasure at the current predicament in which the club currently finds itself, the Irishman's early return to first-team duty was met was widespread adulation before kick-off.
This was, for all intents and purposes, a timely boost for an otherwise downtrodden fanbase unhappy with what appears to be another false dawn- and in the main, it had the desired effect, with Goodison more patient than before with the team through difficult spells in the game.
As expected from someone who has just an hour of Under-23 football under his belt, Coleman was rusty in the early stages, sending approximate punts forward and finding touch on several occasions. Yet as the game progressed, so too did Coleman.
Untroubled by Ben Chilwell's forays forward, the Irishman then got on the offensive to give the Blues a foothold in the game. Better was to come after the break, too, as Coleman combined superbly with Theo Walcott on a number of occasions.
A blossoming partnership that grants extra pace and drive to Everton in attack- and a promising hint at things to come.
For now, though, Coleman's return from a nasty leg break serves as a happy ending for one of football's good guys.
