Everton lost more ground in the race for European football after conceding a late equaliser to Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.

Everton started the game with a back three which allowed Digne and Coleman to provide the width down the flanks and, combined with the return of James Rodriguez, would help give Dominic Calvert Lewin some much needed assistance on the attacking front.

It was a cagey start from both teams as neither one wished to give away an easy opportunity in the opening 10 mins due to their poor records when conceding first, with both notching just one win in thirteen when letting in the first goal.

A great opportunity was granted to the Blues first as Andre Gomes capitalised on a Milivojevjc mistake in the midfield leading to a Richarlison one on one chance but the forward chose to pass rather than shoot which proved to be the wrong decision.

Referee Kevin Friend was unforgiving in the first 20 seemingly giving the Toffees nothing in the way of fouls on the likes of Digne and Crystal Palace a foul for the slightest contact.

The opponents first real chance was carved out by some good work from Eze who played a neat one two before firing a shot into the glove of Robin Olsen.

The Blues then had a spurt themselves with Calvert Lewin missing a good chance before Richarlison headed over after a sublime Seamus Coleman cross who started the game excellently.

Carlos men seemed to go into the next gear playing good football and feeding the ball out wide on numerous occasions, the only worry is that the ball hadn’t ended up in the net yet. Everton fans felt they might rue the chances that their front two missed.

It was a shame to see Andre Gomes leave the field with an injury after the Portuguese midfielder had started well with multiple interceptions in the centre of park. He was replaced by Gylfi Sigurdsson who hopefully would bring some threat from set pieces if Everton were to need it.

The chances kept coming for the home side as crosses and free kicks kept being whipped into the opposition area with James the architect of it all, controlling the tempo and elevating the performance of his teammates.

The second half started in the favour of the away team as they were playing some neat one touch football but not really threatening in terms of shots. The blues on the other hand, seemed happy to counter with a chance falling to Sigurdsson who came close with a deflected attempt.

The breakthrough finally came after some good play on the edge forced a save out of Guaita who parried out to Seamus Coleman who smartly found James who delivered a beautiful finish into the bottom left corner.

The Toffees nearly doubled their lead when DCL was released after an excellent Richarlison through ball only for the England striker to scuff yet another golden opportunity.

The Eagles tried to drag themselves back into the game applying pressure to the Everton backline and forcing Olsen into the occasional save. The main aim for Everton from this point would be to not let their foot off the guess and press for more goals to avoid dropping unnecessary points in the race for Europe.

Jean Phillips Gbamin returning after 2 years out injured was a nice sight to see as he was introduced to sure up the 1-0 lead.

A beautiful passage of play involving DCL, Digne and Richarlison led to the latter forcing a quite sublime save out of Guaita who was proving to be a busy man.

The Crystal Palace pressure paid off after Michael Keane was caught ball watching, leaving Michy Batshuayi wide open to slot a finish past an onrushing Olsen to bring the Eagles level. A heartbreaking goal to concede for the Blues.

The result will feel like a loss in most fans’ eyes as the blues were the dominant side for the majority of the match and cruising to the point where the two best performers, James Rodriguez and Seamus Coleman were taken off. This was ultimately a mistake by Carlo Ancelotti as momentum fell to the Eagles which was a dangerous game to play with a measly 1 goal lead.

Carlo must also be held accountable for not making a substitution after the Palace equaliser went in, with Josh King on the bench who surely would have added a different element in the final ten minutes.

Despite this the overarching blame needs to be placed on the finishing of both Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin who missed chance after chance during the match which may have seemed insignificant at the time but with hindsight, lost us the three points.

With the hunt for Europe ongoing, every game is a must win for the Blues and this feels like a significant dent in our chances of securing that spot with the likes of Liverpool and West Ham picking up points around us.

Looking at the positives, James Rodriguez when fit, is the best player on the pitch with his passing range, neat finishing and awareness on the pitch but the fact that he can only last 75 minutes will always be a concern.]

Seamus Coleman was a revelation today, looking like the player a few years ago that was constantly bombing down the wing and providing width and assistance to the forward line.

Overall, the game was a huge disappointment to not take a home win but the Toffees must move on with fixtures coming thick and fast with the Blues travelling to the Amex to face Brighton in a week’s time.

Player Ratings:
Robin Olsen – 8
Lucas Digne – 7
Michael Keane – 6
Mason Holgate – 7
Yerry Mina – 6.5
Seamus Coleman – 8
Tom Davies – 6
Andre Gomes – 6
James Rodriguez – 8 (MOTM)
Richarlison – 4
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 4

Subs:
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 5
Ben Godfrey – 5