Season › 2013-14 › News Majestic Everton crush Stoke at Goodison Lyndon Lloyd , 30 November, 0comments | Jump to most recent Everton 4 - 0 Stoke City Deulofeu tormented Stoke throughout and had a hand in three goals Everton romped to their biggest Premier League win since April last year on the back of a superb performance that might have yielded even more goals were it not for Asmir Begovic in the Stoke City goal. A pattern of Everton domination was established in a first half in which Gerard Deulofeu, handed his first Premier League start by Roberto Martinez, was the principal driving force down the right flank and he forced two saves from the Stoke 'keeper before scoring the first goal just before half time. The Spanish teenager started and finished a lovely move on Everton's left, exchanging a one-two pass with the imperious Steven Pienaar and collecting a touch off Gareth Barry before burying the ball high into the net past Begovic. With one eye squarely on Wednesday's trip to Old Trafford, Martinez had made two additional changes to the one forced upon him by Leighton Baines' injury. Bryan Oviedo deputised for the England international at left back and, while largely untested from a defensive point of view, was excellent going forward. Meanwhile, Deulofeu made the most of his opportunity with Kevin Mirallas rested on the bench and Leon Osman had an impressive game in Ross Barkley's place in midfield. Article continues below video content Deulofeu was a constant thorn in Stoke's side and the second half wasn't even four minutes old before he architected the Blues' second goal, again from the left flank. He picked up a slide-rule pass from James McCarthy and drove down the channel before delivering a cross that came at too awkward a height for Barry but fell invitingly for the on-rushing Seamus Coleman who clipped a first-time shot inside the far post. With Mark Hughes' Potters rocking, 2-0 was quickly 3-0 following another lovely move that forced a corner on the Everton left. Deulofeu took it short to Oviedo who swept inside his marker before whipping a right-footed shot in off the post. Though Stoke briefly rallied, particularly following the introduction of Kenwyne Jones and Breck Shea, the Blues remained a constant threat going forward, particularly on the counter-attack where Deulofeu's pace was a nightmare for the visitors' rearguard. Twice he surged straight through the heart of their defence, rode illegal challenges where it might have been easier to go down for the penalty but was thwarted at the last, first by Begovic and then by a last-ditch defender's challenge. A fourth goal looked inevitable, though, and it came 11 minutes from time when Oviedo got to the byline before measuring a perfect ball into the six-yard box for Romelu Lukaku to prod home from close range to complete the rout. It could and probably should have been more but Lukaku's replacement, Nikica Jelavic, spurned a gilt-eged chance to end his barren spell in front of goal when he was put clean through but shot straight at the 'keeper and Mirallas also saw a low shot saved by the 'keeper. All in all, though, a terrific performance and a much-deserved win that, for the time being at least, puts Everton joint-second on points in the crowded top four ahead of the daunting trips to Manchester United and Arsenal. Speaking with Sky Sports after the game, Martinez was effusive in his praise of Deulofeu, the teenager he brought in on loan from Barcelona in the summer: "He is showing he is ready, that he is ready to help the team. He surprised me how quickly he has got used to the tempo and physicality of our league as it is not the same to play in the team he was playing in before and I have been very pleased with him. "He worked really hard and now he shows he is ready to give you that little bit of quality that we all know he has, but more importantly I think he is a mature footballer that understands what the team needs." The manager was also pleased to see that his selection changes didn't disrupt the team's rhythm. "The games are coming thick and fast over the next few weeks, "Martinez said. "That's why it's important everyone in the squad is ready to play." Quotes or other material sourced from ToffeeWeb Match Reports Match summary and discussion Full match report About these ads © ToffeeWeb