Everton registered their third successive home win over Manchester United by thumping the Red Devils 3-0 at Goodison Park this afternoon.
James McCarthy got the show on the road with a cool finish after just five minutes, before John Stones added another before the break to fatten the advantage.
Kevin Mirallas then came off the bench in the second half to seal the points with a cute near-post finish.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how the clash was won on Merseyside.
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Match statistics
EVERTON
Shots: 9
On target: 7
Possession: 35%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 9
MANCHESTER UNITED
Shots: 17
On target: 4
Possession: 65%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 6
Was the result fair?
Certainly. Despite United dominating in virtually every area, they lacked a cutting edge in the final third and could only muster two or three clear goalscoring chances throughout the 90 minutes. It was not good enough from the visitors, who shipped three relatively sloppy goals from a defensive perspective, and they can have no complaints over the result.
Everton's performance
Being 12th in the Premier League, Roberto Martinez's side had very little to play for other than pride, but that was enough of a prize as the Toffees picked up their biggest scalp of an otherwise disappointing season. Despite the minimal permutations of the result, Everton looked up for a scrap from the start and they moved ahead after just five minutes following a swift counter-attack, with McCarthy calmly slotting past David de Gea.
It was at the other end where the hosts then faced serious questions as their back four of Seamus Coleman, Stones, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines all stood up well to everything that came their way, while McCarthy and Gareth Barry proved adequate sentries in front of the defence.
They remained a threat on the counter, though, with Ross Barkley, playing at number 10, and the jet-heeled Aaron Lennon on the wing proving valuable outlets. It was Lennon who played a key part in the move that ultimately led to the second goal. The Tottenham Hotspur loanee played a fantastic pass to Coleman, whose cross was cleared for a corner. United batted away the first two, but it was third time lucky as Stones glanced his header past De Gea to earn Everton a comfortable 2-0 half-time lead.
Despite the tenuous nature of a two-goal lead, Everton never looked like conceding in a second half that saw their defence have the added threat of Radamel Falcao to combat, and Mirallas capitalised on a touch of confusion in United's defence to add a third with 16 minutes left.
It capped their biggest win over the Manchester giants for 23 years, but there will be a sense of lingering disappointment for Martinez, whose side have now won five of their last six, that this hot streak comes too late to salvage anything of real value this season.
Manchester United's performance
United had possession, Everton had the goals. Louis van Gaal could have been forgiven for being struck by a sense of deja vu, having watched his side boast some 71% possession in their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend. It was shaping up to be a similar story at Goodison Park, as the Red Devils went into the break 2-0 behind despite having 60% of the ball and several promising chances.
Like last Saturday, Van Gaal's charges started the contest well but only five minutes elapsed before they were behind, with McCarthy starting and finishing a counter-attack. Questions will be asked of Daley Blind and Paddy McNair's half-hearted defending right before the midfielder slotted beyond De Gea for a relatively soft goal from the visitors' perspective.
However, they did respond well and Marouane Fellaini missed a glorious chance to level matters, before Blind and Chris Smalling also spurned decent opportunities. If that was not bad enough then Fellaini also found himself booked with some 78 minutes left on the clock, forcing him to curb the physical aspect that has helped him emerge as one of his side's most important players this season.
It proved an eventful return to Merseyside for the towering Belgian, who, along with Antonio Valencia, was culpable for allowing Stones to get the run on him prior to heading home a second goal that United had no response to. It floored them, and Van Gaal's decision to switch to 4-4-2 during the break, with Falcao replacing Fellaini to partner Wayne Rooney up front, did little to solve their final-third deficencies.
With a two-goal deficit, they still had a glimmer of hope. It would have only taken one to restore the belief, but the hosts effectively killed off the encounter on 74 minutes when Mirallas raced through, after Valencia had inexplicably stopped dead to call offside, before coolly slotting beyond the Spaniard.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Ross Barkley: Playing at number 10 this afternoon, Barkley continued to enhance his burgeoning reputation with an excellent performance. His energy never wavered and the youngster was remarkably economical in possession, refusing to pass unless the right one was available. There were several other candidates, but Barkley was the standout one today.
Biggest gaffe
Fellaini was left running his hands through that lofty afro on eight minutes after missing a glorious opportunity to provide an immediate riposte from McCarthy's opener. The Belgian showed good endeavour to wrestle the ball from Jagielka just outside Everton's box but, Fellaini, with the chance to silence the boo boys, fired over the bar when one-on-one with Howard.
It was a toss-up between him and Valencia, but Fellaini's gaffe might have changed the course of the game, whereas Valencia's error simply steepened an already-mountainous task.
Referee performance
It was a quiet day at the office for Andre Marriner, who dished out two yellow cards in total - Fellaini and Luke Shaw - for offences that warranted bookings.
What next?
Everton: The Merseysiders travel away to FA Cup finalists Aston Villa next Saturday.
Manchester United: United are also back in action on Saturday as they welcome West Bromwich Albion to Old Trafford.
Shane Callaghan
