Crystal Palace vs Everton; Premier League
Crystal Palace vs Everton. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance24,958.
Crystal Palace 2
- I Sarr (34th minute)
- J Mateta (77th minute)
Everton 2
- J Tarkowski (6th minute)
- Beto (47th minute)
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton: Toffees let lead slip twice as European dream takes another hit
Report and free match highlights as Everton were twice pegged back in a thrilling encounter at Selhurst Park; James Tarkowski and Beto both gave Toffees hope of a precious three points but Palace rescued a dramatic draw with goals from Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta
Sunday 10 May 2026 17:34, UK
Everton's hunt for European football took another dent after a thrilling but frantic 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
A game packed full of incident and entertainment swung the way of Everton twice, but Palace came from behind on both occasions to earn a precious point and stave off any danger of being dragged into an unwanted relegation scrap.
David Moyes will be disappointed his side let another precious lead slip after conceding a two-goal advantage in Monday's dramatic draw with Manchester City, now needing two wins from their final two fixtures to have any hope of staying in contention for Europe.
A contest that was as absorbing as it was chaotic contained four goals but somehow that still felt like a modest return from a combined 14 shots on target. James Tarkowski opened the scoring at the back post from a corner before some sloppy defending from Michael Keane allowed Ismaila Sarr to strike the equaliser.
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
- Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
- Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
Big chances continued to be spurned at both ends of the pitch with both teams playing so open. Maxence Lacroix was denied by Jordan Pickford, who then launched a counter to get Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall away and he drew a wonderful stop from Dean Henderson - all within the same 26-second period. A precedent had been set.
Neither side gave up their chase for more chances after the break. Everton's breakthrough arrived first, a wonderful solo goal from Beto shortly after the restart, turning Lacroix inside out. The visitors were in ascendancy, balancing their desire to attack with the need to better protect Pickford's goal.
James Garner's dipping free-kick was well saved. Dewsbury-Hall should have made more of a one-on-one with Henderson. And chaos from corners meant set-play threat was ever present. But after failing to make good on such dominance, a sting in the tail was perhaps inevitable.
Jean-Philippe Mateta arrived from the bench to level again in the 77th minute, afforded far too much space in the Everton box to slam home Tyrick Mitchell's cross. Adam Wharton also clipped the post late on. Moyes will nevertheless consider both goals avoidable, with his side now failing to win any of their last five league matches. Their bid for Europe is faltering at the crucial time.
Qualification is now painfully out of their hands.
Moyes insists European dream still possible
Everton boss David Moyes:
"We gave up chances, the game probably could have been four or five each at one point. We're trying to win games at the moment but we missed some big opportunities to go 2-0 up. They certainly had some chances too.
"We've been in front twice today and should have done better. We didn't quite finish it off. It's amazing that we're talking about Everton being in Europe with two games left to go and we're not out of it yet."