Everton rallied from a goal down to beat Southampton 3-1 in the Premier League as manager Rafa Benitez enjoyed a winning start to his reign at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Benitez's appointment was not a popular one on the blue half of Merseyside after his spell in charge of Liverpool and his side left the field to boos at halftime as it trailed to a goal by Adam Armstrong on his Southampton debut.
But whatever the Spaniard said at the break did the trick as Everton was a different proposition once Richarlison equalised from close range in the 47th minute.
Abdoulaye Doucoure's sublime finish put it ahead in the 76th minute before Richarlison set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make the points safe late on.
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Benitez is the first manager to cross the Liverpool divide since the 1890s but was greeted warmly before kickoff and again at fulltime as a new chapter in his managerial career began.
After last season's struggles at home, when Everton managed to win only six of 19 at Goodison, it looked like being a familiar tale when Armstrong scored after 22 minutes.
Everton defender Michael Keane was caught dawdling in possession by Che Adams who flicked the ball through to Armstrong, who finished high past Jordan Pickford.
Armstrong, signed from Blackburn Rovers, was a handful in the first half as Southampton was good value for its lead while Everton was hesitant at the back and toothless up front.
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But everything changed two minutes after the break when Andros Townsend headed a clearance back into the Southampton area and Richarlison, a week after helping Brazil win the Olympic final, poked home the equaliser.
Everton was much livelier after that and went ahead when Doucoure turned sharply in the penalty area before smashing a rising drive past Alex McCarthy.
Everton's fans were joyous a few minutes later when Richarlison did well down the right and his low cross was met by a diving Calvert-Lewin.
Brighton downs Burnley 2-1 in feisty encounter
Brighton & Hove Albion's Neal Maupay and Alexis Mac Allister scored superb second-half goals to seal a 2-1 victory over a wasteful Burnley in its feisty opening Premier League encounter at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Argentine midfielder Mac Allister charged into the penalty area and swept home the winner from Pascal Gross's cross after striker Neal Maupay fired in the equaliser on his 25th birthday, following a neat pass by substitute Jakub Moder.
James Tarkowski nodded Burnley in front from a corner in the second minute, with the referee refusing to entertain complaints from Maupay who claimed that he was shoved to the ground by the onrushing defender in the build-up.
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Brighton's rearguard appeared jittery without Ben White, who joined Arsenal during the close season, and it was rescued by the post with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez well beaten by Johann Gudmundsson's shot from a distance after the opener.
Burnley skipper Ben Mee also went close with a header that struck the underside of the crossbar after Sanchez flapped at a corner and Tarkowski could not keep his follow-up effort on target with the missed chances proving costly in the end.
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