Highlights: Everton 3-1 Southampton: Rafa Benitez wins first Everton game after superb second-half comeback

Stats from Opta

• Everton haven’t won a Premier League game after trailing at halftime since September 2015 (3-2 against West Brom), drawing six and losing 46 of their 52 such games since then.
• Southampton has lost 60 points from winning positions in the Premier League since Ralph Hasenhuttl took over in December 2018, more than any other team.
• Only Ivan Toney (55) has scored more goals in the top four tiers of English football since the start of 2019-20 than Southampton’s Adam Armstrong (45).
• Richarlison has scored in each of his previous four Premier League outings against Southampton, and his five goals against them are tied for his joint-best total in the division.

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Everton came back from a goal down to beat Southampton 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday, giving new manager Rafa Benitez a winning start at Goodison Park.

After his time in charge of Liverpool, Benitez’s appointment did not go down well with the blue half of Merseyside, and his side was booed off the field at halftime as they trailed to a goal by Adam Armstrong on his Southampton debut.

But whatever the Spaniard said during the halftime break worked, as Everton became a different proposition after Richarlison equalized from close range in the 47th minute.

Richarlison set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin to secure the points late on after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s sublime finish put them ahead in the 76th minute.

Benitez is the first Liverpool manager to cross the Merseyside divide since the 1890s, and he was greeted warmly both before and after the game as a new chapter in his managerial career began.

After Everton’s struggles at Goodison Park last season, when they won only six of 19 games, it looked like a repeat performance when Armstrong scored after 22 minutes.

Che Adams caught Everton defender Michael Keane dithering in control and passed the ball through to Armstrong, who finished high beyond Jordan Pickford.

Armstrong, who joined Southampton from Blackburn Rovers, was a handful in the first half as Southampton were well worth their lead, while Everton were shaky at the back and lacking in creativity up front.

Two minutes after the break, Andros Townsend headed a clearance back into the Southampton area, and Richarlison, who had just helped Brazil win the Olympic final, poked home the equaliser.

Everton came alive after that, and Doucoure put them ahead with a rising drive past Alex McCarthy after a sharp turn in the penalty area.

Richarlison did well down the right flank, and his low cross was met by a diving Calvert-Lewin. Everton fans were ecstatic a few minutes later.