NOT for the first time in recent years, Everton found staring at the face of adversity to their liking last night.
Domestic matters may continue to perplex this season but European competition is proving far more accommodating for David Moyes’s side.
While the Goodison outfit had been rightly criticised for their alarmingly powder-puff capitulation against Fulham at the weekend, here they were vibrant and purposeful to ensure their Europa League group campaign opened with comfortable victory against AEK Athens.
The Greeks went the same way as Sigma Olomouc had in the qualifying round, ruthlessly overpowered and dispatched with the minimum of fuss even before Everton’s job was made easier by the 55th-minute dismissal of Carlos Araujo.
It was Moyes’s 11th win in Europe since arriving at Goodison, equalling the club record held by Harry Catterick.