Everton’s bid for European football took a turn for the worse after a thrilling but frenetic 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
In a game full of happenings and entertainment, Everton were thrown around twice, but Palace came back from behind to win both times and take a vital point, building on the momentum that saw them reach their first European final on Thursday.
Manager David Moyes will be disappointed that his team missed out on another valuable lead after conceding a two-goal advantage in Monday’s dramatic draw with Manchester City. They need two wins in their remaining two games to have any hope of remaining in the European competition.
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Keenan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner hit the defender at the back post and James Tarkowski was in the perfect position to put Everton ahead.
As engrossing as it was chaotic, the game included four goals, but still somehow felt like a modest return from a total of 14 shots on target. James Tarkowski took the lead with a corner kick that hit the back post, but Michael Keane’s sloppy defending allowed Ismaila Sarr to equalize.
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Beto restored Everton’s lead with a stunning solo finish, controlling Tarkowski’s long clearance, twisting past Maxence Lacroix and calmly firing a shot through the legs of Dean Henderson.
Big chances continued to be denied at both ends of the pitch as both teams played very open. Maxence Lacroix’s shot was denied by Jordan Pickford, but Pickford countered to take Keenan Dewsbury-Hall and draw a great stop from Dean Henderson, all within the same 26 seconds. A precedent has been set.
After the break, both teams continued to chase for more chances. Everton’s breakthrough came first, with Beto scoring a superb solo goal just after the restart to put Lacroix back. The visiting team had the upper hand, balancing their desire to attack with the need to better defend Pickford’s goal.
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Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench and made an immediate impact, moving away from his marker to Tyrick Mitchell who fired a low cross from inside the box past Jordan Pickford to pull Crystal Palace back into the game.
James Garner’s diving free kick was well saved. Dewsbury Hall should have had more one-on-one time with Henderson. And the chaos from the corners meant the threat of set pieces was always present. But after failing to successfully build up such an advantage, a sting in the tail was probably inevitable.
Jean-Philippe Mateta came on from the bench and equalized again in the 77th minute, giving Everton too much space in the box and curling home Tyrik Mitchell’s cross. Adam Wharton also clipped the post later on. However, Moyes will believe the two goals are avoidable as his side have not won in their last five league games. Their European challenge is faltering at a critical time.
The qualification is now out of their hands.
Moïse insists European dream is still alive
Everton manager David Moyes:
“We gave up chances. The game could have been down to four or five points at one point. We’re trying to win the game at the moment, but we missed some big chances to go up 2-0 and we had some late chances.
“We were ahead twice today and we should have done better. We didn’t quite close it out. It’s amazing that we’re talking about Everton being in Europe with two games left, but we’re not out of that situation yet.”
“That’s why we’re seeing big teams learning how to deal with pressure. The facts show that. But the facts also show that we probably can’t handle some of that pressure. We have to try to get better at it, but we haven’t been in this position for a long time.”
Glasner praises “amazing” performance
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner:
“I’m happy with the performance, especially in the second half. The last 30 minutes felt like Everton had to play three days ago and we put a lot of pressure on and created chances. We made a few mistakes.”
“We always know that Everton can be dangerous, but I’m really proud of the team’s effort today, the belief we had and the mentality to play to win.
“I think it was a great performance today.”
