Everton continued their amazing form under David Moyes on Saturday night, beating Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.
After rescuing a draw in dramatic fashion against Liverpool in midweek, the Toffees were down in London to take on the Eagles.
It was a potentially tricky game on paper.
But Everton managed to take all three points thanks to goals from Beto and Carlos Alcaraz.
The win meant Everton have done the double over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, which hasn’t happened for 20 years.
It’s been a remarkable job from David Moyes so far, with no club taking more points than him since he replaced Sean Dyche.
He just seems to be getting everything spot on, and his intuition over one decision in particular may well have won Everton the game on Saturday.
David Moyes suggests he nearly took Carlos Alcaraz off before he scored in Everton win over Crystal Palace
Carlos Alcaraz was handed his first start for Everton against Palace.
He came off the bench against Bournemouth in the FA Cup and then Liverpool, and was then thrown into the number 10 role from the start against Palace.
Abdoulaye Doucoure picked up a red card against Liverpool, so it was always likely the Argentine would get a chance.
And it was a great performance from Alcaraz, who has already got his own chant from the Everton fans.
He worked well with Beto, and that duo could well cause real problems for teams going forward. Even Alan Shearer praised the Alcaraz and Beto partnership on Match of the Day.
Moyes spoke about Alcaraz after the game, and made an interesting admission regarding the new signing. He said that he felt he was fading due to tiredness, suggesting he actually almost took him off before he got the crucial goal for Everton.
He said (via evertonfc.com): “I thought Charly did well. I thought he tired in the second half and maybe 10-15 minutes before we took him off we thought he was fading a little bit but he kept at it and he got a goal which was monstrous for us, it really was.”
Alcaraz may now replace Doucoure for Everton
This was a really positive display from Alcaraz in his full debut for Everton, and it’s exciting to think of the level he’ll be at once his fitness improves.
The early signs are that he’s a player who can carry the ball and provide that service to Beto, with the work rate to boot.
He looked very comfortable in that role, and that is not good news for Doucoure.
After Saturday’s game, Phil Jagielka suggested Doucoure might be worried seeing how well Alcaraz played against Palace, since he’s been playing in the 10 role.
With Idrissa Gueye and James Garner settled as the holding pair, the Frenchman’s starting prospects may have just taken a hit.
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