Jack Grealish scored in stoppage time to end Crystal Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run as Everton staged an unlikely comeback to snatch a 2-1 win.
Oliver Glasner’s side looked to be heading towards second place in the Premier League when Daniel Munoz opened the scoring, which triggered Everton to be booed off at the break.
Palace should have doubled their lead but Jean-Phillipe Mateta had one cleared off the line and fired wide from close range. They were punished for not putting the game to bed when Iliman Ndiaye rolled home a penalty after a foul by Maxence Lacroix.
Everton and the Hill Dickinson Stadium crowd sensed an unlikely comeback was on as Palace slipped deeper in stoppage time and Grealish pounced after Beto’s header was saved by Dean Henderson to spark wild celebrations.
The on-loan Manchester City winger knew little about it as Eagles’ goalscorer Munoz’s clearance rebounded off him into the net but he happily claimed it, after manager David Moyes had called on him to produce more of a threat in front of goal.
That threat had been absent from the whole team for the majority of the game until Lacroix needlessly gave away a penalty which allowed Ndiaye to equalise 14 minutes from time.
This victory for the home side felt like lift-off in their new Hill-Dickinson Stadium, where they remain unbeaten.
Despite the defeat some context is required for Palace as a year ago they were 18th and without a win. Even after the disappointment here, fifth place is uncharted territory still under Glasner.
Mateta’s finishing woes proving costly for Palace
Mateta was wasteful in front of goal
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s finishing cost Crystal Palace their unbeaten run. Let’s not sugar-coat it.
The result for Oliver Glasner could – and arguably should – have been very different had Mateta brought his shooting boots.
Mateta missed a combined 0.59 of expected goals, two of which were defined as big chances. In a sport decided by such fine margins, that’s simply not good enough. When chances come at a premium in the Premier League – especially away from home – your striker has to make the difference. Mateta? He was the difference but for the wrong reasons.
The big Frenchman has been enjoying a purple patch under Glasner, linking play with intelligence and giving Palace more bite in the final third.
However, missing big chances is becoming a theme now. Mateta has missed seven of nine big chances in the Premier League this season and has underperformed his expected goals by 2.2 this season – the worst record of any player.
After a two-year spell of overperformance, the regression has hit.
Moyes: Subs made a huge difference
Everton manager David Moyes lauded the impact of half-time substitutes Carlos Alcaraz and Beto.
“We needed to do it after our first-half performance,” he told Sky Sports. “We could have been out of sight, they could have been 3-0 up at one point in the second half. But we showed resilience, we played much better in the second half than we had in the first half.
“We had a much different sort of mentality going into the second half than we looked as if we had at the start of the first half. We seemed to be second to everything, but great credit. There was a lot of resilience around this club. It has been here for a long time and it showed today.
“What we needed was energy and to show a little bit that we were trying to press and get after Crystal Palace. I have to say, I thought they played really well in the first half. I don’t think my team played well in the first half.
“We had a big job to try and contain them. The second half we played much better, but yet they still were able to get two big opportunities. But you are right, the substitutes made a huge difference with their energy, the way they went about it for the team.
“We altered a couple of things at half time as well tactically to try and get ourselves a better foothold in the game. We did do that, albeit we still had to give up chances. Palace are unbeaten in 19 or 20 games now. Some run, and I say this with respect, if it was one of the top teams in this country, I think we would be lauding them. Congratulations to Crystal Palace, I thought they still played very well today.”
