Romelu Lukaku hit a hat-trick as English Premiership giants Everton swept aside Hearts at Tynecastle.
The day started well for the home side, with Callum Paterson heading them into a deserved lead early on, but the Toffees warmed to the task and with the help of two penalties, they wrapped up the match in comfortable fashion.
It was a stern test for Hearts boss Robbie Neilson to take on one week before the start of the Scottish Premiership season, and he went with a back three of captain Alim Ozturk, new signing Igor Rossi and Jordan McGhee, with Paterson and Kevin McHattie deployed as wing-backs.
The tactic bore fruit as early as the ninth minute, when Paterson got into an advanced position on the right to win a corner. McHattie trotted over to deliver a vicious in-swinger that found Paterson rising highest at the back post to thump a header past Tim Howard and move Hearts into an early lead.
The Jambos were full of confidence and had the better of the opening exchanges, but Everton clawed their way level after eighteen minutes with a little help from the day's panto villain, referee Willie Collum.
Seamus Coleman hung a ball up for Lukaku to attack, with his bullet header being brilliantly saved from point-blank range by Neil Alexander only to fall at the feet of Gareth Barry.
He struck towards the unguarded goal only for the ball to skew wide, with Collum adjudging that the former England midfielder's effort was helped on it's way by the hand of Ozturk on the line, much to Hearts' fury and surprise.
Perhaps given the friendly nature of the fixture, no card was subsequently flashed at the Hearts skipper, and Lukaku stepped up to send Alexander the wrong way from the spot.
The Merseysiders started to exude an element of control over proceedings, and they should have taken the lead when Leighton Baines' corner delivery found Leon Osman in yards of space, but the veteran midfielder planted his free header wide of the target.
They did move ahead on 34 minutes though, and as the common parlance goes, it had been coming.
Lovely build-up play on the right between Kevin Mirallas and Coleman allowed the full-back the space to lift his head inside the area, and he expertly cut the ball back for the on-rushing Lukaku to side-foot his second goal of the game low past Alexander from twelve yards.
Billy King came on for Ozturk at the start of the second half but the tactical re-shuffle did little to turn the tide of the game, and McHattie fouled Mirallas to concede the second penalty of the day after 49 minutes, even if the Everton winger's fall was a touch on the theatrical side.
Lukaku stepped forward again and swept the ball home to complete his hat-trick.
The obligatory raft of substitutions followed, but Everton remained in control, and Lukaku had several opportunities to increase his own personal goal tally, with one side-footed effort in particular drawing a fine save from Alexander.
Scotland forward Steven Naismith was given a less than cordial welcome from the Hearts faithful as he made a late appearance from the bench, but he almost had the last laugh as he slipped in fellow substitute Ross Barkley, only for young back-up keeper Jack Hamilton to get down bravely to deny the England star.
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