Hail ‘the great entertainers’. Once an unlikely epitaph to define Stoke City, these days a fitting inscription for Mark Hughes’s reformists, who triumphed 4-3 over Everton with an outstanding display of attacking football.
Magnificent, majestic, mesmeric. Few superlatives would aptly describe the moment Xherdan Shaqiri scored the visitors second goal of the afternoon.
It was a flash of brilliance that, in a moment vindicated Hughes’s decision to invest so heavily in the Swiss winger.
Xherdan Shaqiri scores Stoke's first
Stoke had started well and deservedly led through Shaqiri’s 16th minute opener which was crafted by Bojan and Marko Arnautovic.
If Bojan had played the role of maestro, orchestrating several incisive Stoke raids the home team’s renewal was fashioned in a rather more robust manner. James McCarthy ran directly at the Stoke defence and laid the ball off to Lukaku who played a one-two with Ross Barkley.
Romelu Lukaku levels the score for Everton at 1-1
The Belgian aided by Eric Pieters, the Stoke left-back, who failed to hold the same defensive line as his colleagues, emphatically slammed the ball past Jack Butland.
Prior to kick-off Lukaku had been cast as Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars inspired graphics displayed on a screen at the Gwladys Street end of the ground. He is not so much as a ‘New Hope’ though as an established hero. This was his 10th goal from his last ten outings.
Unlike Mark Hamill, the actor who played Skywalker, he did not require the use of a lightsaber to wreak more havoc. Suddenly with a spring in his step, he looked more like the 6ft 2inch destroyer of teams that those in the Blue half of Merseyside have started to adore.
Xherdan Shaqiri scores his superlative second
Lukaku and Everton were in the mood. Philipp Wollscheid was booked for felling him illegally. Ryan Shawcross the looked befuddled to be swatted off and left on the floor as the striker displayed his athleticism and power.
Ross Barkley also came to the fore as Everton stepped up a gear if not two. His dynamic run and back-heeled pass fell into the path of Brendan Galloway and almost brought a second goal in the 32nd minute.
Romelu Lukaku levels the score for Everton at 2-2
The England midfielder was not satisfied. On his next foray forward he chased down his own touch forward before outrageously flicking the ball through Glenn Johnson’s legs. His finish could not beat Butland though.
There were still flashes from Bojan though. One turn that left Seamus Coleman running towards the stand for half-time refreshments was straight from the La Masia playbook.
Everton though held sway as the interval approached. A second goal appeared inevitable but when it came it stunned Goodison Park into silence. Bojan delivered a wonderful pass into the path of Shaqiri. As the ball dropped the winger nonchalantly flicked it over the head of Tim Howard on the half-volley from around 18-yards out.
Gerard Deulofeu scores Everton's third
The ball nestled into the top left hand corner of the net.
Roberto Martinez’s men were far from finished though. Tom Cleverley’s pinpoint diagonal dissected the visiting defence and Lukaku restored parity.
Joselu (obscured) scores Stoke's third
Lukaku was then involved as Everton hit the front in the 70th minute. The forward linked up with Barkley whose centre was tapped in by Gerard Deulefeu.
Deulofeu then spurned an opportunity to put the game to bed and Stoke mounted their own comeback which ultimately wrestled all three points away from the Blues.
Everton's John Stones concedes a penalty to Arnautovic
Substitute Joselu fired an 80th minute equaliser and Marko Arnautovic blasted in an injury time winner from the penalty spot after being upended by John Stones.
Marko Arnautovic (left) celebrates giving Stoke victory
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