LIVERPOOL: An Amadou Onana goal sealed Everton a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and lifted the Merseyside club out of the Premier League relegation zone on Monday, with the match watched from the stands by the London side’s new manager Oliver Glasner.

Jordan Ayew had given Palace a second half lead just hours after manager Roy Hodgson stood down and their new boss Glasner was confirmed.

But Onana rose highest at a corner to head in an equaliser for Everton in a game low on quality, but which moves Sean Dyche’s side out of the bottom three and above Luton Town into 17th place.

“We knew it was going to be difficult up here, but we fought hard to get what we could,” Palace defender Joachim Andersen told SkySports.

Everton have 20 points from 25 games, the same as Luton having played a game more, while Palace are in 15th place, five points clear of the drop zone.

“In the last 20 minutes we were maybe defending too deep. We can play better, but we did everything we could tonight, just a bit frustrating to lose a goal in the final 10 minutes,” Andersen said “We just found out today about the new manager, we will have to see what he can bring to the table. It is really sad for Roy, we wish him well.”

Palace assistant manager Paddy McCarthy took charge in the dugout with Glasner in the stands, and the visitors put in an impressive shift with a press that made it uncomfortable for Everton all evening.

The home side did not have the quality to create much in the way of clear-cut chances, bar from set-pieces, where they have been strong all season and from which they scored their goal.

It will be a point gained for the visitors but two dropped for Everton, who are now winless in their last eight Premier League games.

“Fair play to Palace, they had a sharpness and an edge about them with their new manager watching. They scored a goal out of nothing but I thought we reacted well to that,” Dyche said. “We did a lot of good things in the second half and created chances, especially from set-pieces and got our goal.”

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2024