Crystal Palace succumbed to a disappointing defeat at Goodson Park as Wilfried Zaha & Co. were toothless in the attack.
Patrick Vieira will scratch his head to figure out a way to get his team to perform consistently. Having come into the clash with Everton on a good run of form, Crystal Palace were abysmal in defeat, as Wilfried Zaha & Co. proved toothless in the attack.
Both teams started the contest well, and Everton found the breakthrough early on. Alex Iwobi lashed onto a loose ball after Luka Milivojevic lost possession in an advanced area. The Nigerian found Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who nutmegged Marc Guehi and slammed his shot past Vicente Guaita.
FULL-TIME Everton 3-0 Crystal Palace
Three goals, three points, as Everton impress at home#EVECRY pic.twitter.com/0Uk81oaIWB
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 22, 2022
Palace got their bearings in order and tried to create chances, but nothing went their way. A few half opportunities aside, Vieira’s men could not threaten enough. Michael Olise should have scored from close range, but his finish was awful.
Everton doubled their advantage midway through the second half through Anthony Gordon. Guaita’s handling of the ball from a Vitaly Mykolenko error allowed Gordon to lurk in from behind and tap into an empty net. As the match progressed, Dwight McNeil tripled the advantage after some good link-up play with Iwobi saw the former Burnley star finish off the move.
The loss allowed Everton to leapfrog Palace in the standings. Vieira will aim to finish better than last season, but this form will get them nowhere. The big problem may have been the chopping and changing of their style for the Everton game, despite getting favourable results with his usual 4-3-3 recently.
Crystal Palace
Vicente Guaita – 5/10
Guaita made a brilliant stop from a Gordon shot early but was poor with the second Everton goal. He should have parried a rather manageable shot from Mykolenko into safety. Instead, he directed it onto the path of an incoming Gordon, who only had to tap in.
Joel Ward – 5/10
Ward struggled for relevance throughout the game. He could not support Olise or Jordan in the final third while struggling to control a few Everton attacks coming his way. Substitute McNeil beat him easily on his way to scoring the third goal.
Patrick Vieira on today's incredible support from our fans ❤️💙
Watch in full 👉 https://t.co/fmA8QIJwua#CPFC | #EVECRY pic.twitter.com/am1Tdt9QwI
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 22, 2022
Joachim Andersen – 6/10
Andersen was always resilient, but his passing game had some flaws. The Dane could not find a teammate on many occasions, and he felt let down by his defensive colleagues for all three Everton goals.
Tyrick Mitchell – 5/10
Like Ward on the other flank, Mitchell’s struggles were visible throughout the game. The full-back wasn’t able to support Zaha in the forward actions. Meanwhile, he left too much space for Iwobi on the left side to set up the goal for Calvert-Lewin.
Luka Milivojevic – 4/10
A surprise inclusion, given Vieira, was missing Cheick Doucoure for this clash. Milivojevic gave up possession in a dangerous area while trying to dribble his way out. The result was the first Everton goal. Overall the midfielder struggled to have any meaningful control of the game.
Michael Olise – 4.5/10
Olise was bright with his movements but could barely threaten in his usual manner. Moreover, he missed Palace’s best chance to equalise after placing his close-range effort wide.
Jordan Ayew – 5/10
Ayew worked hard, as always, but his positioning was sometimes confusing. He did conjure up the brilliant chance for Olise, which he missed.
Eberechi Eze – 5.5/10
He looked lively as usual but lacked the killer instinct that had recently seen him in threatening form. He was wasteful at times on the ball, which in turn showed how much Palace are reliant on Eze these days.
Wilfried Zaha – 4/10
After we tipped him to have a brilliant game in the build-up, Zaha put in an anonymous performance. He was also lucky not to get sent off midway through the second half after sparking a brawl in the middle of the pitch.
Odsonne Edouard – 5/10
Much like his attacking colleagues, Edouard was anonymous for most parts. He often popped up in moments but barely could threaten Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Substitutes
Jean-Philippe Mateta – 4/10
Mateta replaced Edouard to bring some relevance to the striking position. Without any meaningful impact, the Frenchman ended the afternoon with a booking.
🇬🇭 Jeffrey Schlupp vs Everton:
• 17 touches
• 12/14 passes completed
• 2/2 tackles won
• 2/3 ground duels won
• 1/1 long passes completedSchlupp was only on the pitch for the last 28 minutes of the game, but he brought steel to the midfield when Palace looked overrun. pic.twitter.com/9qQ4ukFmKN
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) October 22, 2022
Jeffrey Schlupp – 4.5/10
He added some much-needed energy for the visitors, but without any impact, he ended the game with a booking.
Malcolm Ebiowei – 4/10
Vieira sent him in place of Ayew, but the forward barely had any impact.
