7 hours ago
10
Oliver Glasner looked on aghast while his Crystal Palace players rubbed their heads and sank to their knees in sheer disbelief. As well they might. Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run is over, vanishing against a late and thoroughly unexpected Everton recovery capped by Jack Grealish’s first goal for David Moyes’ team.
Everton have been Palace’s bogey team for several years but their first away win since 2014 beckoned after Daniel Muñoz gave the visitors a deserved interval lead. There are some miracles that Glasner can not conjure, however, and after Iliman Ndiaye hauled the hosts back into the contest from the penalty spot a fortunate 93rd minute strike from Grealish condemned Palace to their first defeat since 16 April. It was an outcome no one would have predicted for the majority of the contest.
Palace set the tone for a dominant first-half display from the start with long throws from Chris Richards and Adam Wharton’s incisive distribution causing Everton endless problems. Jordan Pickford, making his 300th Premier League appearance for Everton, was called into action twice in the opening two minutes as Yeremy Pino and Tyrick Mitchell found space to shoot from the edge of the area. Pickford made a more impressive stop to push away Marc Guéhi’s close-range effort after another Richards’ throw caused havoc in Everton’s six-yard box. James Tarkowski just did enough to take the pace out of the Palace captain’s shot.
It appeared a question of when, not if, the visitors would take the lead long before the inevitable happened. Mitchell struck the side-netting when released beyond Jake O’Brien by the impressive Pino. Seconds later Jean-Philippe Mateta drew a fine low save out of Pickford when found in space by Ismaïla Sarr.
Then came the deserved lead, with a goal that showcased Palace’s individual quality and the collective intelligence of a team that knows precisely what its manager wants. Pino held up play well despite the close attentions of two Everton players to release Sarr. The Senegal international drove at the home defence before rolling a perfectly weighted pass into the over-lapping Muñoz who, with Pickford rushing across goal, converted his second goal in two games with ease. “We’re gonna win the league,” sang the jubilant Palace hordes. And why not? It’s not as fanciful as it sounds on current form.
Palace’s first half superiority tried the patience of the home support almost as much as Everton’s performance. Moyes’ team were slow and sloppy with summer signings Thierno Barry and Tyler Dibling failing to make a positive impression. Dibling, handed a first league start with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall suspended, was anonymous out on the right. The kindest thing to say about Barry is he still looks too raw for the Premier League. Both were unceremoniously hooked at the interval. It was the third time in four games that Moyes has switched his two main strikers at half-time. The changes paid off.
Barry’s replacement, Beto, and particularly Carlos Alcaraz injected an urgency and presence into the Everton attack that was previously absent. That said, Mateta missed two excellent chances to put the contest beyond the hosts before their late recovery. The Palace centre-forward broke free into the Everton box and chipped the advancing Pickford. But O’Brien, who had backed off Mateta and sprinted for the goalline, made a crucial headed clearance. Sarr was then released in space on the left by Pino and rounded Pickford inside the area. His shot deflected off Tarkowski to the feet of Mateta but, with only Michael Keane between him and an empty Everton net, the striker dragged his shot wide from 10 yards out. It would prove a key moment.
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Everton were handed a route back into the game from the penalty spot when Maxence Lacroix misread Vitalii Mykolenko’s pass towards Beto and collided with Tim Iroegbunam as the substitute advanced on his blind side. It was a clear penalty and Ndiaye coolly sent Dean Henderson the wrong way from the spot. Suddenly, having been in almost total control, Palace were on the back foot for the first time. In the 93rd minute Alcaraz, who was at the heart of Everton’s second-half revival, released the goalscorer on the right. Ndiaye floated a beautiful cross into the Palace six-yard box that Beto met with a towering header. Henderson somehow saved at point-blank range only to be beaten when Grealish blocked Muñoz’s attempted clearance and the rebound flew into the roof of his net. Palace’s luck was out and their outstanding unbeaten run was over.
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