Everton were unable to build on their solid form at Goodison Park this season as they fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Leicester City.

Frank Lampard’s side impressed in their previous home outing, defeating Crystal Palace 3-0 before following that up with a gritty and determined 0-0 draw at Fulham.  

They couldn’t replicate those sturdy defensive showings on Saturday evening, though, as Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes found the target either side of the interval to secure all three points for the away side.  

On tonight of all nights and under the Goodison lights, it was always going to be a lively start to proceedings but it was the visitors who started brightest. 

Inside the opening minute, Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall managed to drive with the ball deep into the Everton half before flashing a dangerous cross towards goal that thankfully evaded any touch but presented the Blues with an early warning. 

Just two minutes later Jordan Pickford was called into action for the first time as Leicester forward Patson Daka received a pass on the edge of the penalty area, spun and drove a shot low and hard towards the Everton goal, but the England No.1 was equal to the effort, getting down well to get a strong hand on the shot.  

The Blues responded with a big chance of their own just minutes later as Idrissa Gana Gueye aggressively pressed the Leicester backline, forcing a turnover high up the pitch. Dominic Calvert-Lewin picked up the loose ball and played clever through ball for Alex Iwobi to latch onto, but the Nigerian international could only drive his resulting effort agonisingly just beyond the post.  

The opening 20 minutes continued with the same breathless intensity as both teams looked to press high up the pitch, and each side fashioned half chances, with Gray and Maddison going closest. 

Arguably Everton’s best chance of the half came soon after when Gana’s pressure again helped the hosts force their first corner of the game. 

Dwight McNeil played the resulting set piece short to Gray who whipped in a vicious cross that was met by the towering James Tarkowski. His effort took a slight deflection en route to goal, allowing Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward to stretch and just about tip the effort beyond the post.   

In sticking with the theme of the opening exchanges, Leicester hit back through Dewsbury-Hall who broke into the box and hit a shot toward goal. Tarkowski, though, at full stretch, managed to block the effort and deny the visitors an opener. 

Leicester started to build ahead of steam, however, and there was a notable nervousness within Everton’s possession play, with the visitors too often forcing the Blues into errors on the ball.  

Despite the Goodison crowd trying the spur the home side on, Leicester’s continued pressure eventually paid off. Right on half-time, Everton failed to clear a cross into their penalty area, allowing the waiting Tielemans to hit a half-volley from the edge of the box and into the top corner of Pickford’s net.  

James Garner replaced Gana at half-time, and the midfielder had an almost instant impact as his corner early in the half looked goalbound before being frantically punched away by Ward.  

This sparked the Toffees into life, and they nearly drew level two minutes into the second half when Gray won the ball on the halfway line before feeding it into the feet of Iwobi who then threaded an excellent ball through to Calvert-Lewin arriving in the box, but the England international’s driven shot was well saved by Ward’s feet.

As Everton started to get a foothold on the game, they were reminded of the visitors' threat just before the hour mark when Leicester broke at speed leading to a vicious Maddison strike that ricocheted off Pickford’s post.  

At this juncture Lampard made his second and third substitutions of the game, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Neal Maupay replacing Amadou Onana and Calvert-Lewin.  

Maupay nearly marked his introduction with an immediate goal, latching onto a McNeill cross but seeing his resulting effort on target blocked for a corner.  

As we entered the final 20 minutes of the match, the Toffees began to up the ante in search of an equaliser.

Lampard made his final substitutions of the game as McNeill and Seamus Coleman were replaced by Anthony Gordon and Nathan Patterson.  

Despite Everton dominating more of the ball, they were restricted to very few clear-cut openings by the visitors who defended well.  

Then with a little over five minutes remaining, Leicester again launched a lethal counter-attack that ended in Barnes turning away from Doucoure inside the Everton box before rifling his effort past the outstretched Pickford to double the lead for the visiting side.  

Despite an improved second-half display by Lampard’s side, that proved enough to see the Blues come away from the contest empty-handed.