Ronald Koeman praised Everton’s resilience and commitment after rescuing a draw at Brighton.
The Blues were staring down the barrel of another defeat after Anthony Knockaert gave the hosts an 83rd-minute lead at the Amex Stadium.
But a foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin allowed Wayne Rooney to step up and slot home a late penalty to spare Koeman’s blushes in the trip to the Seagulls.
“I take several positives from today,” said the Everton manager.
“The commitment of the players and the belief was good.
“We know we can play better.”
He added: “We start well in the game, we created some dangerous situations.
“I think the team did well and controlled the game. We also defended well against the direct play of Brighton.”
The game sprang to life with Brighton pouncing on two defensive errors from Everton to take the lead, Koeman said of the goal: “It was one poor defensive moment gave the goal away, mistakes from Dominic and Morgan [Schneiderlin].
“We were lucky they didn’t score a second”.
After Rooney had dragged his team level, there was a chance in the final seconds of stoppage time for Everton win the game only to be denied by Mat Ryan.
“Maybe we deserved more in the last seconds of the game,” said Koeman.
“That’s what we need in life, some luck. If you win the game by the last two shots, that’s luck.
“They were great saves from the keeper.”
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