Despite having Mason Holgate sent off, Everton held on to produce one of the goalless football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. In the 80th minute, right-back Holgate was given his second of two cautions for a tackle on Jordan Ayew, but the hosts, who were going for Roy Hodgson’s fourth straight victory after his reappointment, were unable to take advantage of the extra man. Eberechi Eze came the closest to opening the scoring for Palace with a low drive that forced a fantastic save from Jordan Pickford, but Sean Dyche’s team, who entered the game in 17th place, defended staunchly even as the pressure increased in the closing minutes.
They had a chance to take the lead earlier in the game when Alex Iwobi’s long-range volley was blocked by Sam Johnstone, and when Dominic Calvert-Lewin made his return and played in front of Gareth Southgate, who was watching, he narrowly missed with a shot. Everton leaves the match grateful for a point after dropping their previous two, but Leicester’s comeback victory over Wolves causes them to drop to 18th, behind the Foxes on goal differential. After all, Palace has already allayed their own concerns about being relegated.
Crystal Palace was trying to get closer to the coveted 40-point threshold, but Everton, who was further down the table in danger, made it difficult for them by playing with resiliency right away. Even missing their preferred midfield duo of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Amadou Onana, Dyche’s team defended with assurance and restricted the hosts to half-chances in a balanced first half. On the other end, returning Calvert-Lewin, who was making his first start since early February after a break, served as a crucial outlet by heading a first-chance opportunity too close to Johnstone and putting others into play.
The greatest opportunity for Everton came from Iwobi, though, whose stinging drive from beyond the area forced an athletic stop from a fully extended Johnstone. Despite a few hazardous deliveries from Michael Olise and some risky positioning from Andre Ayew on the other side, Palace was unable to capitalize because they lacked the cutting edge they had in their prior matches. After the break, they kept looking for an early goal, and they thought they had one when Eze lifted an exquisite finish over Pickford after a cross over the top, but it was rightfully called out for offside.
Shortly after that goal that was disallowed, Calvert-Lewin came close to scoring in impressive fashion at the opposite end. He spun after Iwobi’s through-ball and poked a low finish just wide, missing the chance to celebrate his comeback with a victory in front of Southgate. Soon after, Eze’s curling attempt from the Palace midfielder was saved by Pickford, who dived superbly to stop the ball from reaching the far corner. As a result, Everton was soon down to 10 players.
After drawing a foul that resulted in Holgate receiving a booking in the first half, Ayew displayed outstanding anticipation to intercept Pickford’s diagonal pass. His incisive surges forward then provoked another foul from the right-back, who clumsily brought him down. Everton came under intense pressure from Palace in the last minutes, but the visitors remained tenacious and determined, limiting the hosts’ obvious chances and securing a point that they will hope would be useful despite falling to 18th.
“It’s just the way things are around here. This is the league standings. I put off working on it until the very end. I’ve done this since I was 16 years old. The final table of the season is the most significant one. Except for that one, nothing has any meaning,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said. “My attention is on that today (Saturday). The areas in between are the players’ fitness levels, their performance levels, our organization, strategy, and the steps we take to make sure the table is set up correctly for us. You reduce the number to 10, and it’s still difficult here. They had three straight victories, but this place is always difficult to visit and they are a team in good form.”
“It was laborious. When you play against an Everton squad as well-organized as theirs, with the kind of players they have, and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin returning, that is what you will get. He provides them with an additional string for their front bow,” Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said. “In my opinion, we were worth a point, and given how the game turned out, I believe a point is fair compensation for our efforts. With a few balls bobbing around in their six-yard box in the last 10 or 15 minutes, I was happy with how we had contained them.”
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