A 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace was enough to drag Everton out of the relegation zone, but an eighth game without a win in the Premier League and yet another home game passing by without victory was far from a cause for celebration for the Toffees faithful.
A dreary night at Goodison Park was compounded by a lifeless game of football between two poor sides. A superb strike from Jordan Ayew which was cancelled out by a towering header from Amadou Onana were the only true moments of quality over the 90 minutes.
Both sides lacked any cutting edge in the final third and both sets of fans are likely preparing themselves for a nail-biting end to the season if tonight’s displays are anything to go by.
As for Everton, here are the player ratings for last night’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
Jordan Pickford - 6
Alarmingly, the goalkeeper was one of Everton’s most creative plans last night, which is a clear sign of the lack of creativity in this side.
Pickford was often positioned well outside of his penalty box and looking to spray balls forward over Palace’s defence, with mixed results. With no major mistakes and being completely helpless to stop Ayew’s strike, it was a decent display from the England goalkeeper.
Ben Godfrey - 7
One of the few players that showed a bit of passion and desire to win the game. Held his position in the back line as expected but did push forward when the opportunity presented itself, including a couple of marauding dribbles into the Palace half to carry the team forward.
James Tarkowski - 7
Another example of the Toffees’ lack of creativity on the night was the fact that Tarkowski had the most touches of any Everton player.
But the defender dealt well with Palace’s frontline and at least tried to make something happen with a number of attempted long diagonal balls into the attacking third.
Jarrad Branthwaite - 6
A quiet night for the young defender, but he performed his defensive duties without issue and won the majority of his aerial duels.
Vitaliy Mykolenko - 6
Got forward to support the attacking phases of play and had a decent volley on target from the edge of the box for one of Everton’s better attempts in the game.
Another solid defensive display, although perhaps could have done more to block Ayew’s goal-scoring strike.
Ashley Young - 5
A puzzling name to see on the team sheet for what was a winnable home fixture. Slow and ponderous on the ball and offered nothing going forward.
Eventually subbed off for Jack Harrison in the 65th minute, who probably should have started the game ahead of the 38-year-old.
Idrissa Gueye - 7
Another energetic display from the Senegalese midfielder as he got around the pitch, breaking up play and offering an option when the team got forward.
Had a few attempts on goal before being subbed off, but nothing that truly threatened to find the net.
James Garner - 6
Put in a decent shift in the middle of the park but frustrated fans in the amount of times he turned back to lay passes off to Everton’s defenders instead of looking forward and trying to get the Blues on the front foot.
As one of Everton’s more technically gifted players, we need to see Garner be more ambitious with his play and look to unlock the opposition’s defences rather than consistently choosing the safe option.
Dwight McNeil - 6
A frustrating display from McNeil, often too ponderous on the ball during open play he repeatedly slowed down the game instead of running at Palace’s defensive line.
However, he is the best crosser in the team and a couple of his balls led to decent opportunities, in particular the deep cross from the corner that led to Onana’s equalising goal.
Abdoulaye Doucoure - 5
Fans were delighted to see Doucoure’s name back on the team sheet but it turned out to be a disappointing display from Everton’s top scorer upon his return.
The midfielder was sloppy with his passes and topped his display off by missing a guilt-edged chance as the ball spun off his heel when he simply had to prod the ball into the open goal.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin 7
Overall it was a strong performance from Calvert-Lewin who won an incredible 17 aerial duels in the match and looked determined to get Everton moving forward but was often let down by a lack of support from the midfield.
However, it is yet another game where the striker has failed to find the net, although he did come close with a couple of headers. But he is ultimately in the team to score goals and will need to start scoring soon if the Blues are to pull away from the relegation zone.
Jack Harrison (66’ sub) - 6
Dropped to the bench to make way for Doucoure’s return to the starting line-up, Harrison looked busy when he came on and should have started the game on the right wing ahead of Ashley Young against a depleted Crystal Palace side.
Amadou Onana (66’ sub) - 7
Another player that probably should have started the game, Onana looked to get on the ball and get the Toffees on the front foot while also offering a physical presence in the centre of the pitch.
Got the crucial equalising goal with a towering header which was enough to earn a point and take Everton above Luton and out of the bottom three.
Beto (72’ sub) - 6
Came on for Doucoure for the last twenty minutes and caused problems for Palace’s defence playing alongside Calvert-Lewin but failed to offer any moments of quality or composure in the final third.