Everton moved up to sixth with a 4-0 win over 10-man Hull at Goodison Park with Romelu Lukaku scoring twice in stoppage time.
The striker had been in the spotlight in the build-up following his refusal to sign a new contract but he delivered an emphatic response and is now out on his own as the Premier League top scorer with 21 goals.
It was 20-year-old Dominic Calvert-Lewin who put Everton ahead, slotting home Tom Davies' right-wing cross in the ninth minute to mark only his second Premier League start with a goal.
Hull pushed Everton hard in the second half but their task got more difficult when Tom Huddlestone was shown a red card for a foul on Idrissa Gueye with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Enner Valencia came off the bench soon after and scored 69 seconds later to double the lead in the 78th minute before Lukaku's late goals added further gloss to the scoreline.
Hull had chances at the other end with Sam Clucas going close to equalising in the first half when he took advantage of confusion between Ashley Williams and goalkeeper Joel Robles, but his lob was lofted just over the bar.
Marco Silva appeared to tactically outmanoeuvre Ronald Koeman after the interval as the pair traded formation changes but the red card ended their hopes and Hull remain in the relegation zone.
It's Everton who are looking up with the only disappointment being the loss of Morgan Schneiderlin to injury as the in-form midfielder limped off after just half an hour to be replaced by Gareth Barry.
But it is Lukaku who is the real key to their success. He provided the superb assist for Valencia's goal, flicking the ball over the top of the Hull defence, and the substitute returned the favour for Everton's third.
The final goal was an even more composed finish, rounding Eldin Jakupovic after a poor back pass by Omar Elabdellaoui and the fans who gave Lukaku such a warm reception will be hoping there are many more to come in an Everton shirt.
Player ratings
Everton: Robles (6); Coleman (7), Jagielka (7), Williams (6), Baines (7); Barkley (7), Davies (7), Schneiderlin (6), Gueye (7), Calvert-Lewin (7); Lukaku (8).
Subs used: Barry (6), Funes Mori (6), Valencia (7)
Hull: Jakupovic (6), Ranocchia (5), Maguire (6), Davies (6), Elabdellaoui (4), Robertson (6), Huddlestone (5), N'Diaye (6), Clucas (5), Markovic (6), Hernandez (5).
Subs used: Grosicki (6), Diomande (5), Elmohamady (5)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku