Leicester City’s resurgence continued on Saturday evening, when they cruised to a 2-0 victory against an in-form Everton side at Goodison Park.
Despite the pre-match talk, The Foxes created their fair share of opportunities, and scored two very well taken goals.
The first was a contender for goal of the season, for the second away match running Youri Tielemans was on hand to score a screamer, before Harvey Barnes sealed the victory late on.
Meanwhile, Frank Lampard's Everton were left to rue missed opportunities as they slipped down the Premier League table below their opponents.
Following the conclusion of the match, here are the four things we have learnt from this evening’s fixture:
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The hosts suffer possible injury blow
Ahead of the World Cup, England boss Gareth Southgate will be concerned as Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin was forced off midway through the second half with an injury.
Considering the competition for places is already an an all-time high, the striker will need to recover quickly to ensure he is fit for a potential trip to Qatar.
It has already been a tough couple of seasons for the forward, managing just six league appearances so far this term.
However, having scored in his previous home match, Calvert-Lewin was just starting to come into form and the last thing he and his side needed was another injury concern.
There has been no official wording with regards to his injury just yet, and a nervy wait is about to commence.
He was replaced on the hour-mark by Neal Maupay, who also failed to have a positive impact on the game and give The Toffees a way back into the match.
The other concern for Lampard is that his side are already struggling to score goals as it is, and potentially losing his star striker to another potential injury set-back is the last thing he would possibly want.
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Everton are in desperate need of victories
One of the things that Lampard will be disappointed about is the lack of consistency in Everton's results so far this season.
This is especially concerning given the one-month World Cup break that is about to start.
Since the club won back-to-back games between the end of September and start of October, Everton have picked up just one victory in their last six matches.
Their poor form very closely resembles their start to the season, when they went six games without a victory before winning at the seventh time of asking in the league.
Despite sitting 15th in the table, the competition within the league is at an all-time high, and even after 14 games in, there is still no side that is a standout pick for relegation.
It is well known that the Premier League is a tough division, and one win can be crucial.
What Lampard will not want is to go into the World Cup break in poor form.
Coming up, The Toffees have a cup and league double against Bournemouth, which given their form, is the perfect opportunity for the club to bounce back once again.
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Tielemans’ solo goal of the season competition
Following the first few matches of the Premier League season, Leicester’s Tielemans was publicly criticised by fans of the club for his below-average performances.
It is fair to say that he has since silenced the doubters in the best possible way.
Last time away from home, Leicesterproduced a scintillating display as they put four goals past Wolves and Tielemans himself scored a wonder goal to give the visitors the lead.
Somehow, he managed to top that with another stunning long-range effort to beat England’s number one Jordan Pickford, courtesy of an assist from James Maddison.
With two stunning strikes in two consecutive away games, the Belgium international has hit form at the best possible time.
With the 2022 World Cup right around the corner and the majority of sides expected to name their squads next week, Tielemans may have done enough to not only make the squad, but become a guaranteed starter.
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Maddison for England?
It has become a topic of conversation for some time now, but Maddison could finally be recalled to Southgate’s England side ahead of the World Cup.
On Saturday evening, Maddisonadded another two assists to his already impressive tally and fans have been noticing his consistently impressive performances.
At this point, the 25-year-old is already at the top of his game and has been for the last two seasons, it is hard to think of what more he could do to make the squad.
Since August 2021, Maddison has scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists in the Premier League, making him England’s best attacking outlet statistically.
With the official England squad set to be revealed in the coming weeks, Maddison may have finally done enough to win over the Three Lions manager, even with the competition for places in the squad being as tough as it is.
