Full-time: Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace
That was, in general, an engaging watch with plenty of energy and attacking intent on view. Palace move up to sixth with their point but Everton certainly deserved theirs – they switched off at a set piece to allow Dann his goal but had hit the woodwork three times by the time Lukaku scored his equaliser five minutes later. And by the way, Lukaku has 50 goals for Everton in 100 games, all at the age of 22. He is a top-class player, let’s not doubt it. Anyhow – Palace had to defend for most of the second period but won’t be unhappy about their performance. Both sides can take something from this. Hope you’ve enjoyed it – goodnight!
90+3 min: Late, late chance for Kone, found on the left of the area with time to shoot, but he delays, it’s deflected wide and that’s ...
90+2 min: Lukaku seems to be in, but McArthur stands his ground superbly to deny what would have been a certain goal. End to end here in the dying moments.
90+1 min: Half a chance for Mutch, who catches Barry on the ball and makes for the edge of the box but drags wide with his left foot. Then Bolasie, with Gayle making a good run, crosses straight at Howard moments later.
90 min: Souare gives the ball away to Deulofeu, who finds Coleman, who finds Barkley ... but his low half-volley is blocked. We’ll have three added minutes here.
89 min: The crowd are desperate to Howard to get the ball forward. He obliges. It’s mainly been huff and puff from Everton since their equaliser though.
87 min: McArthur is booked for a wild challenge ... and a moment ago Funes Mori appeared to foul Mutch on the edge of the area, but nothing doing.
86 min: Or maybe not, as Bolasie finds some space after a pass from Gayle and for a moment seems to have a clear route to goal, but he’s stopped by two defenders in the nick of time.
84 min: Think we may well be in for wave after wave of Everton attacks now...
Goal! Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace (Lukaku 81)
It’s fair to say he deserves that! The source is, of course, Deulofeu. The substitute, Gayle, is caught napping as Deulofeu nips behind him down the right. He has time to size up his options and slides a low ball right across goal. Lukaku cannot miss. 100 appearances for Everton, 50 goals. A great response – can they win it now?
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81 min: Everton might wonder how they haven’t scored here. They will be kicking themselves at the manner of Dann’s goal – Barry had to put up more of a challenge there – though it’s worth noting the corner originated from one of the sharp counterattacks that are Palace’s trademark.
79 min: Oh my word, Lukaku hits the woodwork again! What an effort – he spins onto a ball upfield and laces a volley onto the underside of the bar! Hennessey might have got a finger onto that, in which case what a save ... and how unlucky again for Lukaku!
77 min: Palace make two changes – Gayle and Mutch for Wickham and Cabaye. They might just have smash-and-grabbed this in the second half.
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Goal! Everton 0-1 Crystal Palace (Dann 76)
Well *that* definitely is! Puncheon takes the corner from the right. It’s a decent enough delivery but nothing special ... yet special enough for Dann to climb above Barry and thud a header past the static Howard! Wow.
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75 min: It’s just coming back at Palace all the time now. They can’t hold onto possession in midfield and are sitting very, very deep. Lukaku tries to tease a ball through the eye of the needle but fails, and then Palace break excitingly! Cabaye is found in acres of space on the left and it looks as if the chance has gone, but the ball ends up breaking to Puncheon 15 yards out. Howard paws his shot over! That would have been against the run of play!
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73 min: It’s pretty much one-way traffic now. But time is running out....
70 min: Jedinak makes a hash of his clearing header from this one, but fortunately for him nobody can react as it flashes along the six yard line. Everton then win their 12th corner but, not for the first, second or third time, Deulofeu underhits it.
70 min: Deulofeu gets on another run and cross-shoots to the near post. Was he trying to catch Hennessey out? Looks so, but the ball was punched behind, and the corner cleared for another....
69 min: The amount of help on offer to Wickham is dwindling but he really holding the ball up well here. One of the criticisms of him is that he hasn’t really made the most of his physique – which was highly developed at an early age – but he’s clearly had some intensive coaching and looks a good player at the moment. But the traffic is all in the other direction and both Deulofeu and Barkley are crowded out before they can shoot ... before Cleverley has another go but daisycuts it through to Hennessey.
66 min: Superb from Everton, Cleverley and Hennessey – Barkley plays in for Lukaku, who lays back to Cleverley. The ball nicks off a defender and sits up beautifully for him to leather one at goal from 20 yards, and the goalkeeper parried it over the bar brilliantly. Fine save, and the corner comes to nought so Palace escape.
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64 min: Everton perhaps need to be a little more patient around the Palace box at times. Plenty of good positions but a few poor decisions, some of them rushed.
63 min: Leighton Baines makes his first Premier League appearance of the season, replacing Galloway.
62 min: Delaney finds some space from Puncheon’s corner, can have a volley at goal but gets it all wrong and – weirdly – shanks it straight back to Puncheon. He wastes the second chance, crossing long and wide.
61 min: Wickham does superbly to hold the ball and wait for support, and Bolasie wins a corner kick...
60 min: Galloway stumbles his way beyond Ward, who then bundles him over. Probably should have been a booking as Galloway had clear grass in front of him. Left-sided free kick in great crossing position ... and Wickham flicks it onto his own crossbar! It’s a super, whipped delivery and Wickham rises at the near post, only succeeded in glancing the ball onto the woodwork at rapid speed! Everton have now struck the frame twice.
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58 min: Deulofeu teases a dipping cross towards the near post and Delaney has to stoop to head for yet another corner with Hennessey rooted. Yet again, it is cleared.
57 min: The corner, like every other corner tonight, comes to absolutely nothing.
56 min: Bolasie is allowed to carry the ball some 60 yards with no challenge, waltzes into the box and Howard has to save a low left-footer with his legs. Half-chance there for Bolasie, who could possibly have done even better ... then, a bewildering array of Deulofeu stepovers ends in a cross being deflected onto the roof of the net...
54 min: Kone has lots of space on the right as Everton counter and if he can *just* feed in Barkley then the midfielder is in, but Cabaye intercepts. Kone gets a second, more difficult bite and Barkley puts an even trickier header wide. Then Wickham is booked, at the other end, for a high arm on Stones.
52 min: Cabaye, who is finding his range, releases Bolasie and he wins another corner. That’s nodded away.
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51 min: Oooh, important from Funes Mori, who gets in the way of Ward after a nice flip over the top from Cabaye. Corner – generously given – and then an equally generous free kick given for Wickham’s challenge on Howard.
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49 min: Now Palace show, but Coleman – increasingly prominent – gets the better of Bolasie. And at the other end, Lukaku plays a one-two with Kone, whose first-time effort is placed over.
47 min: The flag kick is headed away at the near post, but Deulofeu – who might be making some sort of record for attempted crosses here – wins another. He takes it and Cabaye gets it away.
46 min: Deulofeu starts us off with an early cross, which is cleared. Then Coleman goes on a surge and wins a corner from Jedinak....
Peeeeeeeeep! Second half underway
They have changed ends. Everton get this thing going again.
Teams back out now. Think Everton might sneak this, as long as they look after Bolasie...
Never mind “does anyone want to win the title?” – does anyone want sixth spot tonight? Five minutes til they go again...
Half-time – Everton 0-0 Crystal Palace
There we go. This game had a lovely feel to it for 25 minutes or so, Palace looking excellent down the flanks, flashing balls in and coming mighty close when Howard saved at close range from Wickham. Everton put some delightful moves together and came closer when Lukaku rapped the inside of the post. Deulofeu has been ubiquitous and has blown both very hot and rather cool. The quality dropped a little as both sides tightened up, but this one really could go either way – don’t go anywhere.
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45 min: Cabaye, in space, does much the same as Bolasie a few minutes back – getting the ball 35 yards out and going for the spectacular when there were better options.
44 min: Lukaku shows good strength to hold up a Barry ball on the edge of the six-yard box, but Delaney holds his ground well and blocks. Corner ... which is sliced by Wickham and finds its way to Barry, who shoots straight at Hennessey.
43 min: McArthur tries something Van Bastenesque from an angle on the left after a diagonal ball, but seems to try and turn it into a sidefooter midway through and the ball flops limply wide, to jeers.
42 min: From JR in Illinois – “Has anyone yet asked where the flight you have to catch is going? I’ll bet it’s Norwich, isn’t it?”
Oh, does Norwich have an airport?
41 min: There are other people on the pitch, I promise, but Deulofeu now wins another corner from Souare. Stones makes a leap for Barry’s looping delivery but can’t get high enough. Then Kone marauds into the box but cannot find a team-mate. At the other end, Bolasie – so sharp at the start – leads a counter but lashes needlessly over from range.
40 min: Coleman receives the ball from Deulofeu, sashays inside the has a go on his left foot. Why not? It deflects off a Palace head and wide. It’s taken short to Deulofeu but Bolasie wins the ball from him and that’s quite a waste.
39 min: Deulofeu overcooks his umpteenth delivery – but Souare is letting him get far too many of these in.
38 min: Deulofeu gets all the way to the line, inside the area, after decent work from Cleverley but sidefoots tamely at Souare. It wasn’t a bad position.
36 min: Not quite the flow we had earlier, at the moment.
35 min: Funes Mori’s heavy touch gifts possession to Wickham but the striker, who has time, tries a hasty pass forwards for Cabaye and Stones shepherds it back to Howard. Then Deulofeu crosses yet again, but down Hennessey’s throat.
33 min: Palace’s threat isn’t quite what it was earlier on ... the home team are certainly getting tighter to Bolasie, who finds Kone tracking back to thwart him as Cabaye tries to spring him away with a backheel.
31 min: Another Deulofeu delivery! This time Puncheon is dispossessed deep inside the Everton half and the home team break like lightning, Barkley spreading the ball wide and Dann conceding a corner from Deulofeu’s cross. That’s cleared, but then Lukaku is inches away from converting a Galloway knockback at the far post after a nice turn and cross from Stones.
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29 min: Deulofeu’s latest cross, after a lengthy spell of Everton possession outside the Palace area, is miscued and sails over the bar.
28 min: Dann hammers away Deulofeu’s cross after some nice skill from, this time, Barry. It’s catching.
27 min: Aimless ball by Jedinak goes straight through to Howard. Pretty much the first aimless thing we’ve seen so far though – it’s been good stuff.
25 min: Palace free-kick a third of the way inside the Everton half. Kone heads out towards the right corner flag and eventually, after McArthur returns the ball towards the area, the home team clear.
23 min: In a funny way you almost don’t want this game to see a goal yet, as the ebb and flow is utterly compelling and it’d be a shame for that to change. Now it’s Kone released by Lukaku with a slick backheel, but he slices high and wide from an angle on the left.
21 min: Lukaku hits the post! This time it’s the Belgian with the footwork, bamboozling Dann with a lovely pirhouette on the edge of the box before thudding a low 20-yarder against the upright, across goal and out! So unlucky.
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19 min: More beautiful footwork by Deulofeu, who navigates around three players with some mesmerising close control and feeds Lukaku, whose swish at goal is blocked.
17 min: Bolasie seems to control a diagonal ball with his hand, but Pawson gives nothing and he’s able to get away and put another cross just ahead of Wickham. Bolasie looks absolutely electric at the moment.
16 min: Souare gets to the line from left-back and Funes Mori heads the latest cross behind for another corner, which Puncheon will take from the opposite side. It’s a clipped, flat inswinger and Jedinak flies to meet it at the near post but can’t quite get there ... but then what a save from Howard! Bolasie, unplayable so far, collects on the far side and crosses superbly for Wickham, whose header from five yards is blocked by the ‘keeper’s chest as he spreads himself! Jedinak then fires over from 20 yards.
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14 min: Now Wickham takes a cute ball from Ward and drives a cross in to where ... well ... he would normally be. Palace flashing some fine deliveries in, while some of Everton’s buildup has been sublime. No clear chances yet but it’s a pleasant watch.
13 min: Corner to Palace, conceded after Galloway gave Bolasie a little too much space to cross ... Bolasie receives the short corner, on the left, and crosses well but Barry gets it out.
11 min: Deulofeu gets a run on Dann and should probably beat him, but just overplays. Home team finding plenty of space though.
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11 min: “Well if it was as fiery as that, it may be a case of the shiitakes in the morning anyway. That one’s been waiting several years.” Thanks, Phil James. And let’s hope not – I’ve a flight to catch at 7am.
10 min: Wayne Rooney is in the crowd. Would he get into either of these sides? (....*steps away*....)
9 min: Deulofeu springs Lukaku away with some mesmerising footwork, but a loose Barkley pass spoils the move. That was the sign of a confident boy though.
8 min: My inbox is bursting with emails saying “Dele Alli” in reply to Shaun Wilkinson.
7 min: It’s really open, this. Ward does well to hold up Barkley but the ball finds Lukaku, whose interplay with Kone doesn’t quite work ... but seconds later Lukaku lays back wonderfully to Barkley, who curls a first-time right-footer a yard wide.
6 min: “What kind of mushroom?” asks Lou Roper. Not sure. Definitely not chestnut and, sadly, not in the shiitake family either. It seemed like plain old button.
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4 min: Lively start here from both sides. Bolasie puts in a teasing right-footed ball into the six-yard box and Funes Mori is sharp to stop Wickham, who has also begun well, getting to it.
4 min: And on that topic, from Shaun Wilkinson – “Brendan Galloway for, as the Americans say, best ‘breakthrough’ player of this season so far - what do you think? I can’t think of a better candidate.”
3 min: Galloway gets behind Joel Ward and slips a ball into the box towards Lukaku, but it doesn’t get that far. The left-back found a lot of space there, though.
2 min: Craig Pawson is refereeing or, as JR in Illinois would have it, “the person who is going to ruin the game”.
1 min: Matthew Godfrey is the only person to have asked what kind of omelette it was. The answer is “mushroom” with some kind of fiery seasoning. It was a little dry. Connor Wickham has just fired in a salvo of his own, drilling a low shot that Howard gathered to his right.
Peeeeeep!
They’re away! Palace, in white and kicking from left to right if this is your telly, kick us off.
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My expectations of Deulofeu are simply too high. I should know better at my age, but I just can't help it @NickAmes82
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) December 7, 2015
It is always nicer to think the best of people. And Deulofeu is in sumptuous form...
The teams are out. Z Cars is playing. I’ve finished my omelette. This is going to be okay. Feel free to send in your emails...
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Goodison, in the meantime, is pulsating with the news that it will play host to Dagenham & Redbridge or Whitehawk in the FA Cup third round.
Oh! Craig Bellamy on Monday Night Football! So long, G-Nev. I’ve been doing the FA Cup draw, how’s he doing?
Everton-wise, James McCarthy is still injured so Tom Cleverley plays. Each team missing one important player.
Ok – now you have my undivided attention. Almost, anyway – I’m eating an omelette too. It’s a shame Zaha is out as he was superb last week, but he was a silly boy, making a daft dive and picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Sticking Jedinak in means Palace probably won’t be quite as freewheeling as before, but that might not be a bad move against an in-form Everton.
Just quickly, you’ll note that Mile Jedinak makes his first league start of the season for Palace, replacing the suspended Wilfried Zaha.
I’m ... errrrrr ... cheating on you with another MBM for the next little while. Come here for the FA Cup third round draw. I’ll try not to get confused.
The teams
Everton: Howard, Coleman, Stones, Funes Mori, Galloway, Cleverley, Barry, Deulofeu, Barkley, Kone, Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Baines, Gibson, Mirallas, Lennon, Naismith, Osman.
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Cabaye, Jedinak, McArthur, Puncheon, Wickham, Bolasie. Subs: Speroni, Bamford, Campbell, Gayle, Mutch, Chamakh, Kelly.
Hello
You want entertainment? Come this way for entertainment! This might not be a game that leaps out at you, but Everton and Crystal Palace are both playing some great stuff at the moment. The Toffees are the joint second-highest scorers in the Premier League (27) and have scored 14 of those in their last four games, and 10 in their last two home fixtures. Palace hammered the team we probably now have to call Newly Resurgent Newcastle 5-1 last week, before Steve McClaren’s men pulled their socks up, and could have scored eight or nine.
So this could well be fun, fun, fun, and of course Palace have rather a liking for Merseyside. They have won 3-2 at Goodison in each of the last two seasons – belting games, both – and have also prevailed in their last couple of matches at Anfield. Both of these teams are looking great going forward at the moment but there are soft centres to be exploited: Everton’s was in evidence during that odd, odd match at Bournemouth nine days ago, while Palace won’t look back on their home defeat to Sunderland five days previously with any fondness. With players such as Lukaku, Barkley, Deulofeu, Bolasie and Puncheon all in good form, you’d hope nobody is feeling too cautious tonight.
A look at the league table suggests ambition would be rewarded. Alan Pardew said last week that the win over Newcastle was a pivotal one in Palace’s season – did they want to sit in the mid-table pack or push on? They are now eighth, just four points shy of Tottenham in fifth; Everton, for their part, are a point and three places further back. Opportunity knocks tonight for a team to get well and truly into the European mix, as our winner would go sixth. Who’ll take their chance?
Preamble
Nick will be here shortly for this 8pm kick-off. Meanwhile, here’s Roberto Martínez on how Romelu Lukaku has been key to Everton’s consistency this season …
“Every foreign player has to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League but, for a striker like Rom, with his frame, I don’t think he had the opportunity to play enough 90 minutes when he first arrived,” said Martínez. “He had an incredible scoring ratio at West Brom but I think he played only seven full 90 minutes that season.”
And here’s Sean Ingle’s column on why professional investors are targeting Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace …
… There is a new breed of investor emerging. One who does not necessarily seek control of a club or hope to become a somebody. But they do want a significant return on their dosh – and they see the Premier League as an increasingly fertile place to get it. As the Financial Times pointed out, when the Chicago-based Peak6 Investments bought a 25% stake in Bournemouth, and a US private equity firm bought a sizeable shareholding in Crystal Palace, it “marked the first time that professional investors have taken minority stakes in clubs”. It won’t be the last.
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