Charly Alcaraz marked his first-ever start for Everton with a dramatic late winner, securing a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace and continuing their impressive resurgence under David Moyes. Alcaraz’s 80th-minute strike moved Everton above Moyes’ former club, Manchester United, for the time being, with the team claiming 13 points from a possible 18 since the Scottish manager’s reappointment.
Palace had equalized through Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored his seventh goal in six games this calendar year, after Everton had taken the lead just before halftime. Beto capitalized on a defensive mix-up between Tyrick Mitchell and Jefferson Lerma to open the scoring. Mateta’s equalizer came after a lengthy VAR review confirmed his goal, with the striker timing his run perfectly to latch onto a pass from Marc Guehi, just staying onside. Thankfully, semi-automated offside technology will soon eliminate such lengthy checks.
The first goal came after Palace’s Lerma made an unfortunate misstep, turning away just as Mitchell passed the ball to him. Beto, who had been set up by a precise through ball from Alcaraz, coolly lifted the ball over goalkeeper Dean Henderson to score his fourth goal in four consecutive league games.
In the first half, Lerma had a goal controversially ruled out when the linesman judged that Justin Devenny’s corner had gone out of play. VAR could not conclusively determine whether the ball had actually gone out, leaving some questions unanswered.
Despite leading at halftime, Everton could have easily found themselves trailing, as they were unusually sloppy in defense. Ismaila Sarr hit the bar from close range, and Mateta was denied in a one-on-one with Jordan Pickford, keeping the score level.
With Moyes finally securing a victory over Oliver Glasner on his fourth attempt, both teams are now tied on 30 points after 25 games. More importantly, they are both comfortably 13 points clear of the relegation zone, while currently sitting above Manchester United in the standings.
