Everton secured a remarkable comeback 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday night in the Premier League to secure their safety for next season despite the long treacherous runs in the 2021/2022 Premier League season.
Everton flirted with relegation for a huge chunk of the season before and after hiring former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard for the rest of the season.
After Carlo Ancelotti left for Real Madrid last summer, Rafa Benitez took charge of the side before he was sacked and temporarily replaced by Duncan Ferguson, who was the replaced Frank Lampard all in January.
Lampard, who has been struggling to steady the ship at the Goodison Park, knew that a victory on the night will be enough to secure their safety irrespective of results from the other side.
However, the Toffees’ worst nightmare came up when they went 2-0 down in the first half of the game. Jean-Phillipe Mateta opened the scoring for Crystal Palace in the 21st minute before Jordan Ayew doubled their lead nine minutes before halftime.
Michael Keane set up Everton for a comeback with an early second-half goal in the 54th minute. Brazilian forward Richarlison made it 2-0 with 15 more minutes left to play, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin secured the Victory in the 85th minute.
The win means that Everton cannot finish lower than 16th position as they now have 39 points from 37 games which are already 4 points more than what Burnley in 17th and Leeds United in 18th have.
Despite the celebrations, Frank Lampard called for reinforcement ahead of the 2022/2023 season to ensure that everyone does not fight relegation in the Premier League next season.
“Now is time to take stock, enjoy for the moment and then make sure we are not here again next year because there are reasons we are here. We have to find a way to improve the squad, the club, and ourselves.” Lampard said.
In other games on Thursday, Burnley were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa, and Chelsea also drew 1-1 with Leicester City.
Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu