Lyndon Lloyd 11/11/2023 0comments  |  Jump to last
Palace 2 - 3 Everton

Everton won in London for the third match in succession as Idrissa Gueye plundered the points for the Toffees after they had twice given up the lead to spirited Crystal Palace.

The Toffees had twice led through goals scored at the start of each half by Vitalii Mykolenko and then Abdoulaye Doucouré but they allowed themselves to be pegged back, first when Eberechi Eze picked himself up to score from the penalty spot and then when Odsonne Edouard capitalised on an uncharacteristic error by James Tarkowski.

But just when it seemed as though the pendulum had swung in the home side’s direction in the closing stages, Everton put together an excellent move and Gueye popped up in the opposition box in the 86th minute to score a dramatic winner, his first goal for the club in five-and-a-half years.

Sean Dyche made one change to the team that started against Brighton last weekend, recalling Amadou Onana who had missed out against the Seagulls with a calf problem. The Belgian would only last 45 minutes, though, and made way for the eventual match winner at the start of the second half.

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By then, both teams had got onto the score sheet inside five minutes, with Everton finding the net before 60 seconds had elapsed. After Mykolenko’s initial shot had been charged down, Doucouré laid the loose ball wide to Jack Harrison to clip a teasing ball into the six-yard box where the Ukrainian arrived to gleefully head home his second goal in a week.

The response from Roy Hodgson’s side was immediate, however, and when Eze, who was a handful throughout, danced his way into the area and drew contact from Jarrad Branthwaite’s out-stretched foot, referee Sam Barrott pointed to the spot.

Eze placed his shot wide of Pickford who had remained central trying to fake the winger out and it was 1-1 with five minutes gone. 

Both sides then had spells of pressure as Dwight McNeil deposited a volley into the arms of Sam Johnstone off Ashley Young’s deep cross and Eze thought he had won a second penalty midway through the first half when he skinned Onana along the byline and appeared to be caught by Branthwaite’s trailing foot but the Palace man was booked for diving instead and Video Assistant Referee, Andy Madley, saw no clear and obvious error in the decision.

James Garner then narrowly missed with a scuffed shot from 20 yards and, at the other end, Eze was involved again as he threaded Edouard in once more where Jordan Pickford spilled the striker’s shot before Tarkowski knocked it behind for safety.

The second period was less than four minutes old before Everton struck again. Marc Guehi had put the ball behind for a corner that eventually fell to Mykolenko on the edge of the box. The defender’s volley, reminiscent of his strike against Leicester 18 months ago, was deserving of another goal but when it came back off the base of the post, Doucouré was played onside by Jefferson Lerma and on hand to side-foot the rebound home. 

Again the hosts tried to respond straight away and it took a good save from Pickford to beat away Eze’s powerful drive from the angle while a mix-up between Gueye and Mykolenko almost resulted in an own goal.

Lerma spurned a gilt-edged chance to level things up again when he placed his shot wide of goal from 20 yards but Palace only had to wait another eight minutes for their equaliser. It came when Tarkowski allowed the ball to bounce behind him where Edouard stole in ahead of Pickford to bang it home from close range.

The Eagles’ tails were up but Everton weren’t to be denied. Gueye collected a pass inside from near the right touchline from Tarkowski and fed Doucouré. The Frenchman held his pass until he’d spotted the Senegal international’s run and played him in superbly where Gueye took a touch before sweeping it past Johnstone to make it 3-2.

Beto, on as a substitute for Calvert-Lewin, could have killed it in stoppage time but smashed a shot across goal from an acute angle but Everton held on to claim another hard-earned victory on their travels.

 

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