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| Lukaku was at his dynamic, bullying best as Everton won |
ROMELU Lukaku caught Aston Villa with their Garde down as he claimed his place in football history.
The Everton striker grabbed two, with his first putting Lukaku, 22, on the 50 Premier League goal mark and in doing so joined an elite club of super scorers.
Lukaku became only the fifth player to hit the half ton before turning 23 and stood shoulder to shoulder with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.
Ross Barkley plundered a double, too, but Gerard Deulofeu ran the show with a mesmerising solo mission to destroy Villa and embarrass boss Remi Garde in his second game in charge.
Everton fans stood to salute Deulofeu when he was substituted in the 73rd minute to leave his gaffer Roberto Martinez beaming as he said: “Gerry has been at that level for many weeks now.
“And with Rom, we keep getting a reminder of what a special talent we have at the club. The other names who have achieved that landmark are an impressive list of footballers. The maturity he’s showing this season with the team is even more impressive.”
Garde will give all he has in the fight against relegation and said: “I saw a lot of disappointment in the dressing room. But we are a big club and I won’t let the club down. There are a lot of points to get so let’s stay focused.”
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| Ross Barkley scored twice to ensure Everton move to seventh in the table |
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| Garde could only muster a wry smile as the depth of his task at Villa became clearer |
Deulofeu, groomed for stardom at culture club Barcelona, did damage as early as the 17th minute when his low shot was saved by keeper Brad Guzan but the loose ball was tucked home by Barkley.
Six minutes later, Deulofeu bamboozled Kieran Richardson on the right and his cleverly flighted cross was met by Arouna Kone but Guzan saved brilliantly one handed.
The reprieve was short lived as Everton scored their second in the 28th minute through that man Lukaku, whose initial shot was blocked after being fed by Deulofeu.
Seamus Coleman, fully alert to the situation, picked up another loose ball and provided Lukaku with a glancing header beyond rattled Guzan.
It didn’t get much better for the Villa No 1 three minutes from the break when Kone caused all sorts of problems with a final effort off Guzan’s body and Barkley pounced to ram home the third.
Everton’s Tim Howard was called into action for the first time when he was put under pressure by Funes Mori’s weak back pass but the keeper didn’t give Jordan Veretout enough time to beat him on the edge of the area.
Howard was also equal to a Richardson blockbuster as Villa finally woke up from their slumber but in the 59th minute they suffered a fourth knockout blow which put them to sleep.
Deulofeu ran amok once more and he picked out Barkley whose feed to Lukaku was despatched with ease by the Belgian striker.
EVERTON: Howard 7; Coleman 7, Stones 7, Funes Mori 7, Galloway 6; Deulofeu 9 (Mirallas (73rd) 7), McCarthy 7 (Gibson 84th), Barry 7, Barkley 8 (Osman (73rd) 6); Kone 7, Lukaku 8.
ASTON VILLA: Guzan 7; Hutton 6, Richards 6, Clark 6, Richardson 6; Gil 6 (Gestede (57th) 6), Veretout 6, Westwood 6, Gana 6 (Sanchez (45th) 6), Grealish 6 (N’Zogbia (73rd) 6); Ayew 6.
Star Man: Gerard Deulofeu was brilliant from the first whistle and spent the rest of the game tormenting a ragged Villa defence until his late substitution.
Referee: M Oliver.
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