Everton have now dropped points in each of their last five Premier League matches, harming their hopes of an unlikely European qualification
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: Jordan Pickford of Everton looks dejected after Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace (not pictured) scores his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on May 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski look dejected after Jean-Philippe Mateta struck to earn Crystal Palace a point against Everton
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(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
David Moyes conceded his Everton squad needed to learn how to earn big results when the pressure is at its greatest if the club is to get into Europe.
The Blues have pushed for what would, at the start of the campaign, have been a shock achievement and entered the final games of the season in the hunt for a top-eight finish. But a run of five matches without a win, including this latest draw at Crystal Palace, has left their hopes of Europe dangling by a thread.
One of the most galling elements of that streak has been the inability to hold on to promising results - Everton conceded game-changing stoppage time goals in the three previous matches and twice squandered the lead at Selhurst Park.
Asked by the ECHO whether he had identified why his team had struggled to see out games in that period, Moyes: “We've probably had five games where we've not really got it. Good sides have to do the business at this time of the season, this is the business end of the season. If you really want to be in it then you've got to get wins and that's why we see the big teams there.
“We have got to learn to deal with the pressure of winning the games and how we can do it. So, I don't disagree with that [question].
“The facts are there to show it, but the facts would also say that we've probably not been able to handle bits of it. And we have to try and do that better, but we've not been in this position for a long time.”
Moyes identified the return of European football as a target as soon as he took over a club threatened with another relegation fight back in January 2025.
A tilt at qualification was not expected this season but a year of progress had the potential for a big finish when Everton hammered Chelsea before the last international break.
Moyes feared the halt in the domestic calendar would stymie their momentum and that has proven to be the case.
On the fight for Europe, he said: “We've got to be careful. We're trying to do our best to do it. We've been pushing it from the start. I thought it could be just a bit too much for us, but for long parts we’ve been in and around it, never out of the conversation.
“We’re still not out of it yet, really. So I'm hoping that we can somehow muster something up which might happen. But if not, we'll have to accept it and move on.”
On whether recent results meant finishing outside the top eight, which is likely to be the threshold to reach Europe, would represent a “missed opportunity”, he concluded: “Looking at the games I actually think that we've done okay, but when I look back I'm sort of saying: ‘Why did we not step up to do it?’
“Our away form this season, in the main, has been really good. We drew at Brentford, we lost at West Ham and we have just drawn with Crystal Palace. So we feel disappointed but if you look at our record away from home, it's been so good.
“We are up there with the top teams in the number of games won away from home. But again, just going back to it, it's a different mentality when you win the games where you say: ‘Hey, we're actually playing for something’.
“I think when you're getting relegated, you're actually fighting for your lives in a different way. This is now us having to show them we can play with confidence and self-belief.
“I think we've tried to install that in the players, because they've not been in this situation for a while.”