After his men dominated Leeds 3-0 to move five points clear of the relegation zone, Frank Lampard declared himself \u201cabsolutely delighted\u201d besides emphasizing that \u201cit\u2019s only a start\u201d after they recorded their first Premier League win under him at Goodison Park.<\/p>\n
The Toffees surged ahead 2-0 up in the first half courtesy of smashing headers from defenders Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane\u00a0in the 10th and 23rd minutes, respectively.<\/p>\n
Rodrigo then struck the hosts\u2019 bar in between and repeated the feat late in the first half, before Richarlison\u2019s 78th-minute shot was beautifully slotted in off Anthony Gordon to wrap up the victory for Lampard\u2019s men, who finally advanced five points clear of the relegation zone.<\/p>\n
Lampard \u2013 whose tenure had begun with a 4-1 FA Cup win over Brentford last Saturday, but lost 3-1 at Newcastle in the league three days later \u2013 said: \u201cI\u2019m absolutely delighted.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom minute one, right through the game, against a really good team\u2026 Leeds are a fantastic team, we saw it against Aston Villa in the week (a 3-3 draw), they never stop, great quality, but we didn\u2019t allow them anything today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they hit the bar from distance, but in terms of our effort, our work rate, the nature of the team, how we wanted to play, how compact we were, some of the quality play, opportunities created, we created so many good opportunities in the game \u2013 I\u2019m really happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here two weeks, it\u2019s only a start, that\u2019s for sure and I won\u2019t get overexcited. But I can enjoy it. Seeing my team play like that was everything we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Evertonians\u2019 second league win in 16 league outings, and a first in seven \u2013 Everton\u2019s first clean sheet since early November, achieved without the likes of injured duo Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey \u2013 took the 16th-placed Merseyside outfit to within a point of Marcelo Bielsa\u2019s 15th-placed outfit.<\/p>\n
Lampard added: \u201cCredit to the lads. Defending is a team effort and it starts from the front and that was what was so enjoyable and good about today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe front men, the wide men jumping out to people, the compact nature of the team, and then when you do have to defend, which Leeds will always make you in your box, we dealt with things great.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing for the team to feel the confidence of a clean sheet. I know it\u2019s been a while, we\u2019ll keep working on that and it\u2019s so integral to getting us to where we want to be. It was a huge part of the game for us today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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