Have Everton finally woken from their slumber?

Young striker Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Everton hammered Swiss side Youngs Boys 4-1 in the last 32 of the Europa League

I asked the question could the Europa League be Everton’s saving grace this season in an editorial a few days ago.

If the Toffees 4-1 away win at Swiss side Young Boys on Thursday night is anything to go by then it could very well be.

Fortress

Strangely Everton were considered favourites to win in Switzerland, despite the fact Young Boys had won all three of their group games at the Stade de Suisse without conceding a goal.

The Swiss side had not lost a European game on home soil since Liverpool defeated them in 2012.

In fact the Swiss side had won all seven of their previous home games in the Europa League, so it was some achievement for the Toffees to have won with such ease in the end.

The Swiss side will be sick of the sight of teams from Merseyside, especially as a ground that previously looked like a fortress seemed to crumble under a blue wave of attack.

Luck

Everton fans will tell you that their side have enjoyed very little luck with official’s decisions this season, but they got slightly lucky in this clash.

Both the second and third goals were very questionable, but Everton could argue that so was the sending-off of Toffees defender John Stones, as he did not look like the last man when he felled French striker Guillaume Hoarau in the penalty area, but received a straight red card.

They do say fortune favours the brave and Everton were far braver against Young Boys than they have been all season long.

Dangerous

Everton played with a swagger and an attacking verve that proved very dangerous and effective last season. This season that verve has been missing, except for on European nights when it seems to magically re-appear.

Last night was one of those nights, as Everton looked like a team that were in top form, not one who had claimed victory just once in their last eight games in all competitions.

The likes of Steven Naismith and Ross Barkley were superb going forward and also put a shift in going back towards their own goal. Barkley in particularly looked to have regained his swagger and his vision, which seems to have been missing for much of the season.

Then there was hat-trick hero Romelu Lukaku. He scored three goals and could have had two more, but not only that his hold-up was outstanding, which is something that has been badly missed this season as the striker has struggled to find top form.

The Lukaku that turned up last night was the reason that Everton paid £28million for the striker. That Lukaku has not turned up often enough during the current campaign. Instead the Toffees have had a lumbering out-of-confidence Lukaku up front.

Last night’s performance was influenced largely by the criticism he received for rather naively suggesting that he would like to play for a ‘top club’ in the future. Understandably Everton fans were angry at the comment.

Lukaku maybe felt that he had to make it up to the fans that have so loyally stuck by him through a poor campaign. Lukaku showed last night just how good he can be and why he is so highly-rated. If the 21-year-old keeps producing performances like that I think everybody will be happy.

Confidence

This season the Everton players seem to have been bereft of confidence and their Premier League form, and position has suffered because of it.

However, last night’s performance was almost a flashback to last season’s campaign, where the Toffees showed no fear and gained a club-record Premier League point’s total.

Roberto Martinez’s team looked so comfortable on the ball, Stones apart on the artificial surface, knocking the ball round with confidence and suddenly looking like a team worthy of finishing in the top five of the Premier League.

The Toffees made Young Boys look like a poor team at times and they are anything but that, especially on home soil.

League

Everton’s form has improved in recent months and they have now suffered just one defeat in their last eight games in all competitions, which came in the 89^th minute at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

This result should now give Everton the confidence to push up the Premier League table, with what looks like a very comfortable home game against struggling Leicester City on Sunday.

Everton need to maintain the momentum that they built up in the comfortable away win and take it into the Premier League. It seems that Everton have finally woken up and they are now ready to play, it’s about time too.

Could the comfortable win over Young Boys revive Everton’s season?