Opinion

One Everton star let Sean Dyche down in 3-2 win over Crystal Palace

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Everton continued their blistering form yesterday, showcasing their immense grit and stunning newfound mindset to keep recovering from setbacks at Selhurst Park.

Having taken the lead inside a minute, they were pegged back almost instantly by Eberechi Eze’s penalty. Then, after going ahead again through Abdoulaye Doucoure, they weathered a relentless storm before James Tarkowski’s moment of madness handed them another equaliser.

All the signs suggested that it would be a torrid final 15 minutes, and yet it was Sean Dyche’s men who once again took the initiative, as Idrissa Gana Gueye exchanged a one-two with his midfield partner to slot home a winner by making it 3-2.

Everyone played their part in a huge win right before the international break, but there were some far more integral than others.

Crystal Palace v Everton FC - Premier League
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

After all, whilst it marked an impressive showing for the likes of Gueye, Doucoure and Vitaliy Mykolenko, it was instead an afternoon to forget for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

How did Dominic Calvert-Lewin play vs Crystal Palace?

Although he is often used to seeing little of the ball, forced to feed off scraps whilst chasing hopeless balls into channels and challenging centre-backs in the air, yesterday marked a game where he was particularly starved of possession.

After all, the 26-year-old would record just 20 touches across his 77 minutes on the pitch, of which even goalkeeper Jordan Pickford managed more (44).

Such anonymity fed into further damning statistics, as he was unlikely to shine with such little involvement.

The former Sheffield United man would make just seven accurate passes, and even lost possession ten times of the 20 touches he had too.

What makes things worse is that, in an area where he usually shines, aerially he met his match up against Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi. They kept him relatively silent all game, and as such the striker would win just four of the 15 aerial duels he competed in.

Crystal Palace v Everton FC - Premier League
Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images

Even Beto, who would come on in his place for the final 13 minutes, managed to amass 11 touches and even won three aerials of his own.

Calvert-Lewin will be his own harshest critic, given he has plans to become the club’s leading scorer in the Premier League, and although the win will bring further good spirits around Everton, the marksman will likely spend the next fortnight frustrated with his personal showing.