Everton once again show their fortitude on the road as an unlikely hero secures a dramatic 2-3 win at Selhurst Park.
Sean Dyche and the toffees were back on the road on Saturday afternoon following a 1-1 draw with Brighton at Goodison Park. The lineup remained unchanged from what was a defensive battle that earned a point at home, with Calvert-Lewin, McNeil and Harrison leading the attack. In the midfield, Doucoure led a three with Onana and James Garner, while Ashley Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, and Vitaly Mykolenko formed the backline in front of Jordan Pickford.
If supporters were expecting a passive and defensive minded Everton, the first minute of the match would have put that notion to bed. Inside the first minute, Everton got on the front foot when Doucoure got on a ball in the box and fed it out wide to Harrison on the wing. He looped in a beautiful ball back into the box to who else but Vitaly Mykolenko to get his second goal in as many games with a thunderous header. Only his third Everton goal, the Ukrainian left back continued his fine form to put the blues ahead.
However, only moments later, Palace found an equalizer. Eze stormed into the box and Branthwaite was judged to have fouled him inside the box, a 50/50 call at best. However, Eze stepped up to the spot and finished calmly past Jordan Pickford to level the match at 1-1. Following the goal, Everton seemed a bit happier to allow Crystal Palace to provide the match’s impetus, with Eze spearheading the attack.
It was a cagey battle really throughout the first half, with a further VAR check for a Palace penalty in the 25th minute after Eze was blown over by a strong gust of wind. Everton’s midfield three struggled to get into the match, leaving Calvert-Lewin isolated up top, registering only 11 touches in the first half. Right before the half, Palace once again tore through the midfield, finding Edouard through attack. It was saved by Pickford, but spilled and cleared by Tarkowski. Despite the late corner kick scare, Everton found themselves going into the half level at 1-1.
After what was a passive midfield showing in the first half, Dyche took to the bench, bringing off Onana for Idrissa Gueye. And, in the 49th minute, only 4 minutes after the substitution, Everton would be rewarded. Everton won a corner and it was cleared only as far as Gueye, who sent it to Mykolenko. The left back hit a thunderous volley that cannoned off the inside of the post, and Doucoure was there on the rebound to tap in Everton’s second. There was a VAR check for an offside on Doucoure, but it was eventually ruled a goal, and Everton had their second lead of the match 1-2.
The 59th minute saw a rare moment of breathlessness at the back, as a ball came into the box and Mykolenko and Gueye arrived at the same time. The ball came back towards Pickford’s goal and it took a good save from England’s number one to keep the blues ahead. Palace would keep the impetus up following the early Everton goal, and eventually the dam would break in the 74th minute. It was a horrible moment for Tarkowski, as Lerma sent the ball in towards Edouard. The Everton center back, seemingly not knowing where he was, ducked to allow the ball to be grabbed by Pickford. However, Pickford was to far away and Edouard raced in behind to finish relatively easy to level the match, a horribly frustrating moment for Everton.
Following the mistake, Dyche introduced Beto in place of Calvert-Lewin, and Everton prepared to weather a storm. However, it, maybe surprisingly, was Everton who took the fight to Palace late, and were rewarded with a fantastic winner in the 86th minute. Doucoure did wonderfully to turn into space and run into the Crystal Palace attacking third. He played a reverse ball into Idrissa Gueye who took a wonderful first touch before finding a brilliant finish to put Everton up 2-3.
Nathan Patterson would come on for Ashley Young late, and the final whistle would blow with another massive three points earned for the toffees. It was a display of resilience after losing a lead twice, with unlikely heroes in the form of Mykolenko and Gueye popping up on the scoresheet. Mykolenko was. brilliant on both ends of the pitch once again, and the introduction of Idrissa Gueye absolutely improved Everton in the middle of the park. Doucoure found a goal and an assist in a good performance, and Jack Harrison got his third assist in 6 matches as an Everton player.
After a frustrating late equalizer against Brighton, it might have felt it was going the same way at the 2-2 equalizer. The win continues a good run of form for Everton across all competitions, and propels them to 14th in the league going into the international break, where on the other side a match against Manchester United at Goodison Park is waiting.
UTFT!
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