James Rodrguez sprinkled gold dust once again.
Forwards:
James Rodriguez: 8
James Rodriguez once again showed his brilliance, spotting Coleman’s run and threading the ball to him. The Colombian looked sharp throughout the game, pulling the strings and making it tick in the final third. Rodriguez could have registered an assist for the sublime pass he threaded to Richarlison in the first half but the Brazilian’s first touch was poor and he could never capitalize on that.
James Rodriguez simply elevates the level of others around him. As the game progressed towards the closing stages, the Colombian’s contributions dropped slightly but that was simply because there wasn’t much Everton moment in the final third with all the grind taking place in the middle and in the Toffees defensive half.
If James Rodriguez is able to continue these level of displays, Everton fans are in for a treat this season.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 8.5
Scored the first goal in the most DCL way possible. Being at the right place, right time and picking the right moment to slot it in with his first touch. Did a lot of hard work, holding the ball up and constantly keeping Kouyate on his toes.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have had a brace but today it was more about his hard work in front of the goal area and not in the goal area. The 23 year old is getting better match by match and could well be one of the leaders in the race for the golden boot.
Richarlison: 8
Finally opens his Premier League account this season. Cool, calm and composed finish from the spot. Richarlison is one of those players who can run all day up and down the wing. He was there when Everton were threatening in the final third, he was there when Crystal Palace were deep in the Everton half and he was there making crucial interceptions in the middle of the pitch. The duo of Richarlison and DCL could well hit the 20 goal each mark that is set by Carlo Ancelotti this season.
Substitutions:
Gylfi Sigurdsson (On for Andre Gomes ) 6.5
He was introduced to inject some energy in the midfield. Sigurdsson was brought on when Crystal Palace were on their peak and pushing hard to equalize. He did well to take control and help Everton kill off the game.
Alex Iwobi (On for James Rodriguez) N.A
He was not brought on to replicate the impact of James Rodriguez but his job was to probably hold the ball for as long as possible or just run with it but wasn’t really able to execute either, simply, because he had very little time to do anything.
Tom Davies (On for Richarlison) N.A
Came on for two reasons: First to kill some time and second to provide proof that he still is at Everton despite all the links to Southampton and Newcastle.
How did the Everton players rate as per your expectations?