Romelu Lukaku struck the winning goal as Everton beat Manchester City 2-1 on Wednesday night to take a slender advantage in the Capital One Cup semi-final after the first-leg.
The Belgian's winner came moments after City substitute Jesus Navas equalised after Ramiro Funes Mori had given Everton the lead in first-half stoppage time.
Here are five talking points from the semi-final first leg:
Blues triumph in midfield battle
Roberto Martinez described Gareth Barry as "one of the best English players ever" in his post-match press conference and, although that may be a little of an overstatement, the former Manchester City certainly produced a midfield masterclass against his former club along with midfield partner Muhamed Besic.
At 34-years-old you can be forgiven for thinking that Barry's best years are behind him, but he made crucial interceptions, breaking up play and barely wasted a pass.
To round off his performance, he provided the inch-perfect cross that Lukaku headed past Willy Caballero to give Everton the edge in the first-leg of the semi-final.
Barry's midfield partner, Besic was also impressive. It may have only been the Bosnian's third start of the season, but he was one of Everton's stand-out performers.
As well as impressing defensively, making more tackles than any other player on the pitch, Besic looked comfortable on the ball, used possession well and showed plenty of attacking intent, testing Caberello on two occasions.
The Bosnian international also showed his trickery; pulling off a Maradonna turn in the second-half when gliding past a procession of City players. It was a performance that will most likely see him in the first-team a lot more in the second-half of the season.
Everton target cup success
The Capital One Cup may not be the most sought-after trophy in English football and Roberto Martinez may have insisted that Everton's priority is to secure Champions League football, but Everton are certainly not taking this competition lightly.
In fact, this year's League Cup offers Everton their greatest opportunity to win a trophy for the first time since 1995, when they won the FA Cup. The importance of cup success was highlighted in Martinez's team selection.
The Everton boss made three changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with Tim Howard being replaced by Joel Robles in goal and Besic and Gerard Deulofeu replacing Aaron Lennon and Arouna Kone in midfield.
It was not only Martinez's team selection that showed Everton's ambitions in the competition, but the fierce, competitiveness of the game as well as the atmosphere within Goodison Park.
The Old Lady has not been the fortress it once was but, despite not seeing their side win at home since mid-November and only record three wins at Goodison this season, the crowd got behind their team from the kick-off until the final whistle.
Goodison was certainly back to its best and the victory was greeted with huge cheers by the Everton supporters, who will be hoping they will be seeing their side compete in the League Cup final next month. However, first their side must finish the job off, which is certainly not going to be easy.
Funes Mori 'the man for big occasions'
Ramiro Funes Mori has form at being the man for the big occasion and he produced one of his best performances in an Everton shirt on Wednesday.
The Argentine defender has adapted well to English football since moving to Goodison Park in the summer and has shown that, when he is not carrying out his defensive duties, he is also a threat in the opposition penalty area.
He scored in Everton's 3-3 draw with Bournemouth, and he was in the right place at the right time to give the Blues a crucial lead going into the second-leg. The defender fired home from close range after Caballero saved from Ross Barkley on the stroke of half-time.
The 24-year-old seems to relish the big occasions as he scored for former club River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final and in a historic derby victory over Boca Juniors.
Howard or Robles? The debate continues
As he had done throughout the competition this season, Joel Robles replaced Tim Howard in goal and, with Howard's performances coming under scrutiny this season, it gave an opportunity for Robles to impress.
Despite playing a limited amount of football so far this season, the former Wigan Athletic goalkeeper did little wrong in what was a confident performance. He was called into action late in the first-half to save from Sergio Aguero, before pulling off a fine stop to turn Kevin de Bruyne's shot around the post in the second-half.
And with an FA Cup tie against League Two side Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday, Robles could keep his place in the side and continue to push for a Premier League start.
Signs that Everton have learnt lessons
Roberto Martinez said that he hoped his side would learn from 2015, and there was certainly evidence on Wednesday night that suggests that Everton have learnt their lessons from a frustrating 2015.
The Toffees ended 2015 with a 4-3 home defeat to Stoke City, despite leading with 10 minutes left. On that occasion, when leading 3-2, they decided to chase more goals rather than keeping the ball.
Stoke's two-goal comeback led to Martinez saying that his side needed to manage games better and on Tuesday they did just that. After being reduced to 10-men, following Seamus Coleman having to limp off after Everton used all three substitutions and with City chasing what would have been a costly second away goal, Everton did a good job of keeping possession rather than pushing for another goal.