Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye had spent the last five weeks in an energy-zapping camp in Morocco before nearly a week of partying in Dakar – but you would not know it.
After winning the Africa Cup of Nations eight days before this match, the Senegal duo had been on open-top buses through the jam-packed streets of their capital city and paraded around their homeland like the royalty they now are.
But it was Gueye especially who belied his 36 years with a spellbinding midfield performance to pull Everton back into this contest and thrust his team into the European picture.
The veteran injected energy into a team that had prompted boos at half-time for a lacklustre performance and put the ball on a plate for team-mate Thierno Barry to equalise on 76 minutes.
It cancelled out James Justin’s earlier strike on an evening where Daniel Farke‘s Leeds side barely broke a sweat until after the hour mark.
Idrissa Gana Gueye was at the heart of all things good for Everton after returning from AFCON
Thierno Barry equalised for the Toffees after 76 minutes to give them a 1-1 draw against Leeds
James Justin opened the scoring for Leeds after an impressive counter-attack in the first half
Gueye nearly turned a draw into victory minutes later when he rattled the crossbar as Everton, seemingly down and out in this match, battled hard to rescue something.
The single point was not really anything for boss David Moyes to take real delight in but it builds on last week’s surprise victory on the road at Aston Villa, putting Everton back in the top half.
As for Leeds, this stretched their recent form to just one defeat in their last 11 and helped Farke step six clear of the relegation zone once more.
Everton fans clapped as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s name was read out before the match, though the home crowd must have feared the realistic possibility of their old No 9 leaving them soon realising just what they lost with his exit last summer.
The striker, who played 273 times for the Toffees before his departure, scored 18 goals across his final four seasons in a blue shirt but is already halfway to matching that tally inside six months at Leeds.
It ended up being another ‘one that got away’ scenario that might have bugged boss Moyes going into half-time, though, as Justin, who was considered as a potential signing for Everton last year when at Leicester, poked the away side ahead.
Everton had dominated possession without mustering a shot on Karl Darlow’s goal but were made to pay for their toothless offensive returns in the 28th minute when a sweeping counter-attack culminated in Justin’s goal.
The left wing-back was on the half-way line when he started a run, not tracked by Dwight McNeil, but soon got on the end of a cross from Anton Stach that Calvert-Lewin had just missed.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was cheered on his return to Everton and hit the post in the first half
Daniel Farke’s men had barely broken a sweat for around 60 minutes at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Justin finished confidently with his left foot and wheeled away in celebration. Moyes, meanwhile, was left simultaneously berating a foul on Iliman Ndiaye in the build-up and his team’s defensive deficiencies as Leeds picked them apart at ease.
A similar move nearly put the away side two up minutes later as Jayden Bogle, an effervescent threat down the right flank, put a teasing cross into the path of Calvert-Lewin.
The striker got across his man but was stretching for the ball and could only poke it on to the post. Leeds fans kept themselves warm by jumping up and down singing about Calvert-Lewin, while the only noise from Everton fans were loud boos at half-time, amplified by the bitterly cold gusts blowing in from the banks of the Mersey.
Moyes’s men lost just one of their first seven matches at this swanky new stadium, making Hill Dickinson Stadium as much of a fortress as Goodison Park, but had won only once in the next six before this clash.
Noise levels had dropped and fans grew agitated as Everton failed to ask questions of the Leeds defence, especially given the golden chance they had here: a win would put them just three points off the top four.
Everton, of course, were missing star man Jack Grealish and fear he could miss the majority of this season. But they were boosted by the double-return of African champions Gueye, Senegal captain in that mad final eight days ago in Morocco, and Ndiaye.
The pair might have been lethargic after a week of partying in Dakar but they nearly combined to deadly effect after the break.
Gueye pumped a pass into Ndiaye’s path and Sebastiaan Bornauw needed to make a last-ditch block to thwart the chance.
David Moyes has won just once in his last seven games at Everton’s massive new stadium
It was Everton’s first real chance of the night and the Leeds defenders were finally forced to break a sweat.
Soon, goalkeeper Darlow was forced to make two saves in a minute, first getting across well to parry a Thierno Barry outside-of-the-foot curler, then denying Gueye from range.
Gueye was soon showing Everton how integral he is to this team – and how much they missed him during his month away – when the 36-year-old pulled back a beautiful cross to Barry to convert on 76 minutes.
Suddenly, Leeds went from a picture of calm to a team who looked to be on the ropes and willing away the minutes. Gueye, the protagonist again, left the crossbar rattling as he tried a speculative effort from the edge of the penalty area.
It was not to be but the two Senegal lads, Ndiaye also brilliant in this game, look like new signings for Moyes.
