David Moyes’s European dream is now hanging by a slender thread. Against a Crystal Palace side who have been distracted by their Conference League exploits, Everton were unable to close the gap on their rivals as Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench to deny them victory.
It could have been worse for Moyes had the referee, Tom Bramall, awarded a penalty when James Garner hauled down Jørgen Strand Larsen just before half-time or Adam Wharton’s shot not struck the outside of the post in the 90th minute.
A frantic finish that saw Dean Henderson deny Iliman Ndiaye in stoppage time before Mateta missed a great chance to win it for Oliver Glasner’s side meant Everton stretched their unbeaten run against Palace to 11 matches.
But it means they must now rely on other teams dropping points if they are to have a chance of qualifying for Europe next season, while Palace are still not quite mathematically safe from relegation.
Their last Premier League win against Everton came in December 2021 when Rafael Benítez was in charge of the visitors and the smart money seemed to be on that run continuing given Palace’s European exertions. Four of Palace’s players have played more than 4,000 minutes this season, with Maxence Lacroix starting his 52nd game of a marathon campaign that could end with him being called up for France’s World Cup squad despite being culpable for Beto’s goal.
