Everton lost further ground in the race for Europe with a draw to Crystal Palace.

A returning James Rodriguez broke the deadlock just before the hour mark when he rolled the ball home following a cut-back by Seamus Coleman.

However the visitors snatched a point in the final five minutes as substitutes Jeffrey Schlupp and Michy Batshuayi combined for the latter to equalise.

The result leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side five points adrift of a Champions League qualification place with a game in-hand on their fellow challengers.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Wasteful Blues their own worst enemy

 

If proof was required that Everton can be their own worst enemy at times, their wastefulness in front of goal against Crystal Palace is a classic example.

For large parts of the first half, they had peppered Vicente Guaita’s goal but found themselves heading into the interval with the game still scoreless.

Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, particularly, failed to keep multiple efforts down which made the visiting goalkeeper’s task a far easier one.

Everton only caused Guaita problems twice after the break; first through James Rodriguez’s opener and then a downward volley from the Brazilian.

So it was little surprise that Palace sensed an opportunity in the closing stages and ultimately reaped a deserved reward from a series of counter-attacks.

When Carlo Ancelotti looks back on where his side’s season of huge promise unravelled, this game will undoubtedly be one of the many that got away.

Top four race now all but run

 

Ancelotti stands firm in his belief Everton can qualify for Europe next season but the Champions League is unlikely to still be in his sights at this stage.

Another disappointing result on home soil against highly beatable opposition means that their top four race is all but run at this juncture of the season.

For all their respectability on the road, they have produced a return of just five points from a potential 24 at Goodison since the turn of this year alone.

Worse still, with the exception of West Ham, they have dropped 11 of those when welcoming teams that, on paper at least, they should be overpowering.

Chelsea’s shock defeat at West Brom meant the Blues’ fading chance of sneaking into the continental elite positions again became a realistic prospect.

Once again, however, they have allowed victory to slip through their grasp.

Rodriguez proves the missing link

 

Everton’s attack without James Rodriguez has been a frustrating sight.

When the Colombian is not in the side, as he has not been for their past five matches, his teammates noticeably lacked genuine impetus going forward.

On his first appearance since the Merseyside derby win at Anfield, parity was finally restored with Rodriguez pulling the strings virtually from the outset.

Not only did he break the deadlock with a fine finish but offered a level of creativity that has been sorely missing since that game across Stanley Park.

Ancelotti’s fear of running his talisman into the ground meant Everton had to soldier through the last 10 minutes without their main catalyst on the pitch.

Keeping the 29-year-old fit for the rest of the campaign is crucial, regardless of what is on offer. Even at half-strength, he is still a capable missing link.

Gbamin ends his injury nightmare

 

Jean-Philippe Gbamin’s Everton career has been one of remarkably bad luck.

Just two appearances into the start of last season, he succumbed to an injury which robbed him of the best part of 18 months’ worth of first-team football.

The Ivory Coast international’s emergence from the substitutes’ bench, 597 days since his last outing, felt like a line had finally been drawn on the ordeal.

Although he did not catch the eye, Gbamin went about his role in midfield with relative ease and attempted to pick out cohorts with an array of passes.

Palace’s late equaliser did provide an unwelcome note on which the former Mainz enforcer completed his first competitive outing since August 2019.

But the fact that Gbamin has made the first step on his long-awaited comeback trail should at least provide Everton with more midfield options.