Summary:
- Palace make three changes, with Ward, Johnstone and Edouard returning to the side.
- Edouard tests Pickford early on, firing straight at the England goalkeeper.
- Calvert-Lewin’s near-post header goes narrowly wide of the upright.
- Lerma fires over the bar after a wonderful Palace team move.
- Richards’ goal-bound header is blocked by an Everton defender.
- HT: Everton 0-0 Palace
- Pickford denies Mitchell from close range.
- Superb defending from Johnstone and Muñoz prevent Everton from finding the opener.
- Ayew’s thunderbolt fires Palace into a deserved lead.
- Onana’s bullet header draws Everton level.
- FT: Everton 1-1 Palace
In what is notoriously one of the Premier League’s hardest atmospheres to contain, it was testament to Palace’s early performance that a tense and nerve-filled hush fell over Goodison Park, with an eerie quiet defining the opening exchanges – punctuated only by groans of disappointment when the Eagles regained possession in midfield.
Chances were few and far between, however, with Odsonne Edouard testing Jordan Pickford from the edge of the penalty area before Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed over the crossbar from a dangerous cross towards the near-post.
The best chance of the first-half fell to Jefferson Lerma, fresh from a wonderful first Palace goal against Chelsea last time out. It was a fabulous team move, and would surely have gone down as one of the best scored this season.
It began with a cheeky Edouard nutmeg to get away from his man, exchanging passes with Jean-Philippe Mateta before a reverse pass into Jordan Ayew. Ayew turned sharply and fed Daniel Muñoz, who laid it off first-time for Lerma, but his effort was too high.
Palace’s pressure showed no sign of easing, with the home crowd growing in frustration at Everton’s inability to escape their own final third. Two dangerous corners caused the defence problems, with Chris Richards rising highest to meet the second and seeing his header blocked on its way towards the bottom corner by a stray Everton leg.
It meant we headed into half-time goalless despite the Palace pressure. The Eagles had a huge opportunity shortly after the restart, with Mateta slipping the ball through to Mitchell through on goal; he tried to dink over the advancing Pickford, but the ‘keeper stood tall.
The hosts came close to punishing Palace, denied only by two pieces of superb defensive play. The first came from Sam Johnstone, whose reaction save kept Tarkowski’s powerful header out – but the ball broke immediately to Idrissa Gueye in front of an empty net. He stabbed goalwards but not powerfully enough, and Daniel Muñoz was able to dive acrobatically across and hook it clear from under the crossbar.
Finally, Palace found the breakthrough – and what a glorious goal it was too. It came from Jordan Ayew, who allowed the ball to run across his body on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a rasping effort which arrowed past Pickford and into the far corner.
It was a goal more than good enough to win three points, but it wasn’t to be enough for the Eagles. Everton began to push forwards in response, and won a corner when Johnstone got down well to keep James Garner’s well-struck effort out.
From the resulting corner, substitute Amadou Onana rose highest to power a header home. Goodison Park had found its voice, and it set up a dramatic final few moments, but neither side could break through and the points were shared.
For Palace, with new manager Oliver Glasner watching on, attention now turns to the visit of Burnley in a week’s time.
Everton: Pickford (GK), Godfrey, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Gueye (Harrison, 66), Doucouré (Beto, 72), Garner, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin, Young (Onana, 66).
Subs not used: Virginia (GK), Lonergan (GK), Patterson, Keane, Chermiti, Dobbin.
Palace: Johnstone (GK), Muñoz, Ward, Richards, Andersen, Mitchell, Lerma, Wharton (Ozoh, 88), Ayew, Mateta, Edouard (Ahamada, 72).
Subs not used: Henderson (GK), Tomkins, Clyne, Riedewald, Raymond, Umeh, França.