Everton got their Europa League campaign off to a great start as they defeated VfL Wolfsburg 4-1 at Goodison Park. Steven Naismith, Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirrallas all scored for the hosts, while Ricardo Rodriguez scored a consolation for Die Wölfe.
The Toffees enjoyed a good spell in possession in the early stages of the game but didn't look as though they had anywhere to go as they were met by a very pressing Wolfsburg defence.
The Blues took the lead after a quarter of an hour, which in truth was the first real chance of the contest. A nice one touch passing move between James McCarthy and Leighton Baines carved open the Wolfsburg back four with the left back then squaring the ball to Steven Naismith after drawing Diego Benaglio off his line, leaving the Scot to tap it in the back of the net.
There was no real pace from either side in the first half, a bit of a disappointment given the fact that the match was one of the most intriguing of the Europa League's opening round of fixtures. Naismith's early goal was the only chance for either side until the final five minutes or so of the first half.
Romelu Lukaku forced Diego Benaglio into parrying away a long range costless-kick, a well taken set-piece, going over the wall before dropping towards the bottom corner, though the Swiss goalkeeper had plenty of time to see the ball and react to it.
Then the Toffees doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time, with Baines grabbing his second assist of the night. Kevin Mirrallas cut inside from the left wing, then had a rather tame effort rebound off Benaglio with the ball falling to Baines who fired the ball across goal for Seamus Coleman to nod the ball home. Die Wölfe now had a mountain to climb.
The German side, unsurprisingly, made an attacking substitution with winger Aaron Hunt replacing Junior Malanda who had been playing at defensive midfield.
However their task was made even more difficult just a minute into the second half when the hosts were awarded a penalty; Robin Knoche fouling Aiden McGeady just outside of the area, though it did continue into the 18 yard area. Leighton Baines stepped up to take the kick and calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner, sending Benaglio the wrong way.
Wolfsburg did eventually find their feet; Ivica Olic, Maxi Arnold and Luis Gustavo all with decent chances in the ten minutes that succeeded Baines' penalty. Gustavo's was arguably the best chance, as he picked the ball up inside the Everton box but hit his shot straight at Tim Howard from 9 yards.
Ricardo Rodriguez then came close for the away side from a costless-kick, cunningly aiming for the far post. Though unfortunately for him, Howard was one step ahead of him and pushed it away.
To say that the second half was much more entertaining would be an understatement; the overall pace of the game was picked up and there were a lot more scoring chances – albeit going in the way of Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg youngster Maxi Arnold looked capable of pulling a goal back for the Bundesliga side, often unleashing powerful drives from just outside the 18 yard box. Then again, the 20 year old didn't have a lot to aim for on these occasions as the Blues were playing more defensively.
Kevin De Bruyne came closest to finding the net when his low curling effort had to be tipped round the post by veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard. However, at this point the game was done and dusted with the clock showing there were only 15 minutes left.
Kevin Mirrallas capped off an excellent evening for Everton in the dying moments when he added a fourth. Substitute Samuel Eto'o played the Belgian in behind the defence and all he had to do was slip the ball past Benaglio.
Wolfsburg did, in the end, pull a goal back, though it was deep into injury time. Rodriguez with a superb costless-kick which went in off of the woodwork; Tim Howard could only stand and look.