Everton 1 vs Southampton 0

                                   

Two out of three ain’t bad and was good enough for Everton to grind out a third successive league win.
But if Mino Raiola had his way then the Blues might have to play this way every week.
Without injured top-scorer Romelu Lukaku, Everton found a way to move up the table this afternoon but it wasn’t pretty or ever totally convincing.
Thankfully, the motor-mouthed super agent didn’t get his hands on Romelu Lukaku until after he had joined the Blues on a five-year deal for a club record fee.
The Belgian striker is going nowhere but what a Lukaku-less Everton did against Southampton was reinforce the belief that they need to bolster their attacking options this summer.
Roberto Martinez’s side won this game, to make it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time since last season, but did so having registered just one shot on target and that came from a defender.

Toffees need to beat the top teams

Victory over Southampton was the first time the Blues have beaten a club in the Premier League's top eight this term. It is a sobering statistic.
Only Manchester United and Tottenham remain on the horizon in terms of notable scalps between now and the finish line in May.
But if Martinez's men are to prevent this being truly a campaign to forget entirely, they must add morale-boosting wins over other big-hitting sides to this triumph over the high-flying South Coast outfit.
The solace of a top ten finish remains highly unlikely of course, but Stoke aren't totally out of sight just yet.
It might be grasping at straws, but something has to remain on the table for the next seven weeks to contain any allure.

                                                    Phil Jagielka scores for everton

Lennon's future hangs in the balance

Aaron Lennon's chances of earning a permanent place at Everton remain in the balance. Even if the fairly small sum of £6m would secure his services, the jury remains out on whether the Blues may be better to spend it elsewhere. But if he doesn't get a move North, at least one thing seems certain – it won't be for any lack of effort.
The on-loan winger ran himself into the ground for his second consecutive game, and although there was no goal to garnish his efforts this time, they will still have been appreciatzsed in the manager's office. His end product remains hit and miss, but the wisdom of bringing him to Goodison for the short-term already seems to have been sound.