Match ends, Everton 1, Crystal Palace 1.
EvertonEverton1Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace1
Everton missed the chance to move second in the Premier League as Christian Benteke earned Crystal Palace a deserved point at Goodison Park.
The hosts led when Romelu Lukaku curled a 20-yard free-kick over the Palace wall and into the top-right corner.
Palace improved after the break, levelling when Benteke met Joel Ward's cross with a towering far-post header.
The visitors almost claimed a fourth straight win but Damien Delaney's header was ruled out for offside.
The point was enough to move the Toffees up to third place, four points behind leaders Manchester City, though the rest of the weekend's top-flight fixtures are still to be played.
The Eagles, who continued their recent revival after taking just one point from their opening three matches, remain seventh.
'Soft' decision denies Palace victory
Ahead of kick-off Palace might have settled for a point against an Everton side that has made an impressive start under Ronald Koeman, but they perhaps left Goodison Park aggrieved not to take all three.
There was some debate over the free-kick from which Everton scored, awarded after Delaney - making his 600th career appearance - raised his boot as he tried to clear a loose ball.
The ball hit Everton captain Phil Jagielka's raised arms but referee Jonathan Moss penalised the Palace defender, awarding a free-kick that Lukaku converted with a sublime strike.
"It was a harsh decision. Jags put his head down a little bit," Delaney said afterwards.
Palace also questioned why Delaney's second-half header from Ward's clipped pass was ruled out for offside.
Delaney was in an onside position when the cross came in but television replays showed team-mate James McArthur had strayed offside and was perhaps blocking Maarten Stekelenburg's view when the defender headed the ball into the net.
But there was still confusion after the match. Delaney said he been told by the officials that McArthur had been penalised, while Eagles manager Alan Pardew claimed assistant referee Simon Bennett told him Delaney was offside.
"I gather the TV replays show Damien wasn't offside," said Pardew. "If that's what the assistant referee's call was then we can feel a bit hard done by on that one."
Battle of the Belgians
Everton and Palace rely on burly Belgians to spearhead their attacks, so it was no surprise to see both Lukaku and Benteke on the scoresheet.
The pair are battling for Belgium's number nine shirt and there was little to choose between them at Goodison Park.
While Koeman has told Lukaku that he must press opposing defences more, his finishing is clinical - and he again demonstrated his ability by bending in his fifth goal in three Premier League matches.
But former Liverpool striker Benteke was not to be outdone.
The £27m summer signing has provided a much-needed physical presence up front for Palace, and used his aerial ability to pull his side level.
He showed intelligence to peel off Jagielka and move to the far post, where he rose above Seamus Coleman to direct a wonderful header into the opposite corner.
Man of the match - Christian Benteke
Post-match reaction
Everton manager Ronald Koeman:
"It's a good point in the end. We defended set plays and second balls well against a difficult team.
"The team performance was outstanding, although we'd like to create more opportunities.
"We've had a good start to the season. The position in the table is not everything at the moment and we need to improve, but we're doing a good job."
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew:
"I thought we played very well and showed our quality and resilience by coming back from behind again.
"Everton had a couple of spells early on where you could see their quality. They took the lead but we wouldn't lie down. We bossed the second half.
"I'm happy with the performance of the team and the point."
Stats of the day
- Crystal Palace are now unbeaten in their last four Premier League visits to Goodison Park, winning two and drawing two.
- Lukaku has scored in four of his last five Premier League appearances against Palace.
- Lukaku now has five goals in his last three Premier League appearances - this after a run of 11 consecutive appearances in the competition without a goal.
- Since Benteke's Premier League debut in September 2012, only Olivier Giroud (also 19) has scored as many headed goals.
- Benteke has scored five Premier League goals against Everton, only netting more against Sunderland (seven).
- Crystal Palace have now gone 12 successive Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet.
- This was Ronald Koeman's 100th competitive game in charge of an English club - winning 49, drawing 19 and losing 32.
- There were nine yellow cards shown by referee Jon Moss - the most in a Premier League match this season.
What's next?
A two-week break from the Premier League. Everton resume after the internationals with a trip to leaders Manchester City on Saturday, 15 October (15:00 BST), while Palace host London rivals West Ham later that day (17:30 BST).
Line-ups
Everton
Formation 4-3-1-2
- 22Stekelenburg
- 23Coleman
- 6Jagielka
- 5Williams
- 20OviedoBooked at 16minsSubstituted forMoriat 81'minutes
- 17GueyeBooked at 78mins
- 18BarryBooked at 68mins
- 15CleverleyBooked at 90mins
- 8BarkleySubstituted forMirallasat 77'minutes
- 10Lukaku
- 14BolasieBooked at 88mins
Substitutes
- 1Robles
- 11Mirallas
- 12Lennon
- 19E Valencia
- 25Mori
- 26Davies
- 30Holgate
Crystal Palace
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 30Mandanda
- 2Ward
- 5TomkinsBooked at 45mins
- 27Delaney
- 34Kelly
- 18McArthurSubstituted forCabayeat 79'minutes
- 16Ledley
- 10TownsendBooked at 67minsSubstituted forLeeat 90+3'minutes
- 42PuncheonBooked at 26mins
- 11Zaha
- 17BentekeBooked at 52mins
Substitutes
- 4Flamini
- 7Cabaye
- 9Campbell
- 13Hennessey
- 14Lee
- 19Fryers
- 21Wickham
- Referee:
- Jonathan Moss
- Attendance:
- 38,758
Match Stats
Home TeamEvertonAway TeamCrystal Palace
- Possession
- Home57%
- Away43%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away2
- Corners
- Home10
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home16
- Away11
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Everton 1, Crystal Palace 1.
Booking
Tom Cleverley (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Tom Cleverley (Everton).
Post update
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Lee Chung-yong replaces Andros Townsend.
Post update
Corner, Everton. Conceded by Wilfried Zaha.
Post update
Foul by Tom Cleverley (Everton).
Post update
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Booking
Yannick Bolasie (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Yannick Bolasie (Everton).
Post update
Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Seamus Coleman (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku.
Substitution
Substitution, Everton. Ramiro Funes Mori replaces Bryan Oviedo.
Post update
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace).
Post update
Attempt missed. James Tomkins (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Joe Ledley with a headed pass.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Yohan Cabaye replaces James McArthur.
Booking
Idrissa Gueye (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Everton).
Comments
Join the conversation
Benteke was the ultimate pro when handling the tough times at Liverpool I hope he continues to fly.
He scores goals!!!
We all can not be Plastic Manure or ManCity fans. There are other teams with their fanbases in global football.
Im sure with a little more empathy youll understand.
2 questions for you
(i) why are you on this forum?
(ii) are you 12?
Viz the match, thought palace we excellent, Everton still have players to move on and RK is still mopping up the mess of OFM, serious doubts now about Ross Barkley, lots of talent, poor decision making and bad execution...another long season for the blues I think but probably better than last year
Barkley is the epitome of all hype without much to show for it.
John moss however was dreadful for both teams
They don't know the meaning of the word.
I really enjoyed reading your highly amusing comments. The evidence of history tells us that Tottenham have been a half decent cup team in the past, no more, no less. Their current manager has made them into a more consistent outfit but they will need to convert that into trophies in the cabinet. Keep believing that Tottenham were cheated out of winning the European cup, keep believing.