Everton pick up big three points on the road at Crystal Palace
Having suffered just two defeats in their last eight matches across all competitions, Sean Dyche’s side travelled to South London with a five-point buffer over the PL relegation zone.
Looking to extend that gap even further, the Toffees made a dream start inside the opening minute as Vitaliy Mykolenko headed home from Jack Harrison’s chipped delivery.
The breathless nature of the contest continued with Palace finding an immediate response just four minutes later.
Eberechi Eze was clumsily tripped by Jarrod Branthwaite in the box, and the Eagles’ talisman dusted himself off to stroke the resulting penalty into the bottom corner.
Both sides looked to gain some semblance of composure after a frantic start, with Palace slowly taking control as the first half progressed.
Armed with the momentum, the hosts were denied another spot-kick shortly before the half-hour mark, when referee Samuel Barrott brandished a yellow card to Eze for diving in the area, despite replays suggesting that Branthwaite made contact with the England international.
That fired up the home crowd with HT approaching, but neither side could muster up a moment of quality in the final third, keeping the scores level at the break.
Similar to the opening period, Everton started the second half on the front foot, and Dyche’s men regained the lead within five minutes of the restart as Abdoulaye Doucouré tucked home from inside the six-yard box after Mykolenko’s initial effort cannoned off the woodwork.
Having suffered just one defeat in their last seven home H2Hs, Palace went in pursuit of a leveller as time ticked into the final half-hour, and their persistence was rewarded in the 73rd minute when Odsonne Édouard latched onto Jefferson Lerma’s looped header in the area to finish smartly beyond Jordan Pickford.
For all the hosts’ fighting spirit, Everton took the lead for a third time in the 86th minute through substitute Gueye, with the Senegalese midfielder slotting a clinical strike into the bottom-right corner.
Having squandered the lead twice, the visitors were determined to avoid making the same mistake, and they held firm during the closing stages to secure an impressive three points, earning their sixth win in nine matches across all competitions.
As for Palace, they’ll be desperate to bounce back against Luton Town following the international break after a third defeat in four PL matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
