Crystal Palace 2 Everton 3
Selhurst Park had not proved to be a hotbed of goals so far this season but the return from injury of Eberechi Eze gave the home fans a glimmer of hope that this would change. Welcoming Everton to South London, this was a game that Roy Hodgson would feel was more than winnable.
The Toffees have shown a real Jekyll and Hyde personality this season but started this game like a team possessed as Doucoure fed the ball out wide to Harrison. He clipped a ball into the box and it was met by the head of Mykolenko who put Everton one-nil up with barely a minute on the clock.
Eze then picked up the ball on the right wing and had nothing else on his mind other than heading for goal as he weaved his way amongst the Everton players. As he got into the box, he evaded another defender before being upended and sent to the floor.
The referee did not need to think twice and pointed to the spot. If Sean Dyche had ever wanted to justify his haircut, managing The Toffees does just that, as he would otherwise be pulling his hair out with his side’s ability to throw away points at will.
Credit: @premierleague
Everton players felt there was no contact and that the Palace winger had conned the referee but the VAR review decided his decision was correct. Eze stepped up to the spot, did a little shimmy as he approached the ball and slowly passed the ball past a dumfounded Jordan Pickford.
Palace continued to play their football and looked dangerous whenever Eze got the ball and he was turning the Everton defence inside out. As he got into the box and beat his man, he went to ground again but this time the referee showed the winger a yellow card for diving.
If anything, this looked more of a penalty than the first incident. This is where the VAR system is broken as the review decided there was no ‘clear and obvious error’. Maybe it was karma restoring the balance for the questionable spot kick awarded earlier.
The irony is that the biggest ‘clear and obvious error’ we have seen in football was the decision to bring in video technology and let the incompetent buffoons responsible for the need for its introduction to sit in Stockley Park manning the process.
Everton awoke from their slumber in the second half and as Mykolenko’s volley struck the inside of the post, Doucoure volleyed the rebound into an empty net with Palace’s keeper still on the ground from the original effort.
Eberechi Eze was causing Everton more problems than a long sleeve shirt does Jordan Pickford and the visitors were having to put their bodies on the line to keep him out. Even at this stage of the game, you could see this game had more goals to offer.
Credit: @Everton
Edouard did well down the left before he laid it into the path of the onrushing Lerma. He tried to pass the ball into the bottom corner with Pickford rooted to the spot but his effort went inches wide of the post.
As the visitors tried to clear their lines, Lerma headed a lofted ball over the defence and Edouard took one touch to control it before hooking it past Pickford. The Toffees’ keeper berated his defence who were doing a great impression of the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.
Doucoure then spotted the run of Gueye into the box and picked him out with an inch perfect pass and the midfielder took one touch before sending the keeper the wrong way and slotting the ball into the bottom corner to give Everton the lead late on.
Everton claimed a big three points as they looked to distance themselves from the bottom three and left their gravelly-voiced manager with a smile on his face for once. Hodgson felt aggrieved by some of the refereeing but this has now become the norm in this league.
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