Our Everton jury have returned to have their say following Everton's draw with Crystal Palace and the upcoming Premier League game against Sunderland
David Moyes during the match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on May 10, 2026
David Moyes during the match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on May 10, 2026(Image: Jed Leicester/Everton FC/SmartFrame)
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Everton’s hopes of securing European football suffered another setback on Sunday afternoon when they were forced to settle for a point against Crystal Palace. It was a case of another two points dropped for the Blues, who twice led against the Eagles at Selhurst Park.
Beto put the Blues back ahead with a wonderful solo effort just after the break that looked for much of the second half like being the winner. But Jean-Philippe Mateta hit back 14 minutes from the end to leave the visitors to reflect on what might have been.
Everton are without a win in five Premier League games now, yet they still have a chance of qualifying for a European competition, and our Blues jury have returned to have their say ahead of Sunday’s final home game of the season against Sunderland.
Paul McParlan
Everton desperately needed a win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday to boost our fading European hopes.
Travelling down to London on the train on Sunday, a mood of cautious optimism existed amongst most Blues that three points were possible, especially considering Palace had played a tough Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday.
Unfortunately it turned out to be another missed opportunity. Despite taking the lead twice, we squandered several chances to add to that, with Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall being the main culprits.
They have been our most creative and effective players for most of the season but have struggled in recent games. I wonder if the exertions of AFCON have finally taken their toll on Ndiaye?
It was hard to disagree with David Moyes’s post-match view that they “have just been off the boil a bit as far as finishing is concerned.”
On the plus side, Beto took his goal so well – his ninth of a campaign where he has not always started. It was strange that he was taken off on 70 minutes for Thierno Barry, who made no significant contribution.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: Beto of Everton celebrates scoring 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)
Beto of Everton celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match at Crystal Palace(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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At the end, Beto came over to applaud the Blues packed into the cramped away section while Barry made his quickest move of the match down the tunnel. I can’t see him being here next season.
Why did we wait so long to make changes? Tyrique George appeared on 80 minutes and Charly Alcaraz was given one minute to make an impact! Seriously? We needed to win this one and those substitutions should have been made far earlier.
Once again, Jarrad Branthwaite's absence was costly; we are so much weaker without him in defence. Michael Keane has played well, but the longer the season has continued, the more his limitations have been exposed. In the end, we were glad to escape with a point; it could have been worse. We have played 6 matches in the capital in 2025/26 and won once!
It was our fifth game without a win, and we have taken three points out of a possible 15. We have conceded 11 goals in our last five matches.
Our form is stuttering at the worst possible time. Nevertheless, somehow, we are still in contention for Europe, but it might come down to our final away game at Tottenham Hotspur.
If we fail to beat Sunderland on Sunday, our chances of Europe are gone. It is our last game of the season at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and it's a rare daytime start. Surely a seventh home win is not too much to ask for, especially when the club is excessively hiking the cost of tickets for 26/27?
If we qualify for Europe, then this campaign may be considered a success. However, judging by the mood of the travelling Blues returning home on my train, if we don’t make Europe, questions will rightly be asked of the owners and the manager.
Mark McParlan
Sunday was an entertaining enough game of football, and we haven’t been bad to watch under David Moyes.
Crystal Palace are clearly a decent team, but we needed that win. Our defensive record is failing us at a crucial juncture of the season; we've conceded 11 goals in these past five games, all of which we failed to win.
A defence of 33-year-old James Tarkowski alongside 33-year-old Michael Keane is looking past its best. And again, we keep losing momentum in games. In both of those halves we scored an early goal and dominated for 20-25 minutes before losing control, conceding chances, and then inevitably conceding equalisers. This is something David Moyes needs to sort out. We are seeing the same in-game patterns emerge, failing to hold onto leads.
On the positive side, the annual Beto springtime renaissance is in full flow, and suddenly there is a case for the defence for our strikers. Beto has nine Premier League goals, and Barry has eight for a total of 17.
Bearing in mind that we play a single-striker system, with those two almost never seeing the pitch together, are we therefore effectively in possession of a 17-goal-a-season striker?
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: James Tarkowski of Everton celebrates with teammates Beto, Tim Iroegbunam, Merlin Röhl and Michael Keane after scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on May 10, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
James Tarkowski celebrates with team-mates Beto, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, Merlin Rohl and Michael Keane after putting Everton in front at Crystal Palace(Image: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
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I’m not going to get involved with any ‘Moyes out’ chat, but I understand the argument that with only 49 points, we arguably haven’t improved from the previous two seasons.
I think, though, there have been signs of progression and that stability is still much-needed. The squad needs surgery (and still two full-backs), though we can’t repeat some of the expensive mistakes of last summer.
But in this winless run, we’ve only lost twice. We’ve still picked up three points. If we secured a win against Sunderland at home on Sunday, a fixture that we will be favourites for, we could go into the last day believing that a second win may secure Thursday night Europa Conference League football for next season.
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