Everton displayed their powers of recovery when they dug deep to find a late goal in the Merseyside derby, James Tarkowski lashing beyond Alisson Becker in the final frame of injury time.
It’s remarkable how the Toffees rise to the occasion when pitted against noisy neighbours Liverpool, losing just one of their past eight meetings at Goodison Park.
But under David Moyes, Everton have quickly shaped into a team capable of beating many opponents, with their recent draw actually ending a three-match winning run in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace are up next, waiting at Selhurst Park. The 16th-place Toffees will sit level on points with Oliver Glasner’s side should they win, but it won’t be easy, not least because the Everton medical room gets more and more packed.
Everton missing key players
Abdoulaye Doucoure will serve a one-match suspension after his involvement in the post-match ruckus against Liverpool, who also saw Curtis Jones and head coach Arne Slot dismissed.
He joins an existing list of absentees that is anything but short: Nathan Patterson, Orel Mangala, Seamus Coleman, Dwight McNeil, Youssef Chermiti, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja are all out.
The major concern, of course, is that star attacker Iliman Ndiaye is set for a spell on the sidelines after jarring his knee in the first half. Moyes has confirmed that the former Marseille man has suffered a “medial knee ligament injury”.
While Jack Harrison performed well in his stead on the left flank, the loanee has yet to score or assist a single goal this season, the same as Jesper Lindstrom on the right.
Everton might need to look for offensive support from elsewhere, and wouldn’t it be the perfect time to inculcate Charly Alcaraz into the starting line-up?
Everton's answer to Eberechi Eze
Everton brought Alcaraz in from Brazilian club Flamengo last month, tying him down to a loan move with an obligatory buy clause worth about £13m.
Racing Club
83
12
5
Southampton
48
8
5
Flamengo
19
3
2
Juventus
12
0
1
Everton
2
0
0
He’s a combative and animated midfield presence, capable across a range of roles but at his best when playing off the centre-forward. With Doucoure sidelined, it feels like number ten has his name on it in south London.
Such an electric and dangerous skill set will be needed to overcome Palace’s own midfield maestro: Eberechi Eze.
The England international is one of the silkiest and most dynamic players in the Premier League, ranking among the top 4% of positional peers in the division this term for shots taken, the top 12% for shot-creating actions and the top 16% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
With Ndiaye sidelined, Everton will need another flashy star to step up and drive forward play. That could be Alcaraz, who himself ranked among the top 2% of positional peers in the Brasileiro Serie A 2024 campaign for shots, the top 7% for shot-creating actions, the top 6% for progressive carries and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
Some might feel that the loss of Ndiaye puts the writing on the wall for a Blues side that has suffered so much misfortune in recent years, but something feels different with Moyes back in the dugout.
Everton are playing with purpose – and maybe, even, gusto.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp described Ndiaye as a forward capable of “dynamite” moments, and he’s indeed been integral over the past several weeks, netting in all three of Everton’s wins with their new manager in the dugout.
Alcaraz is effectively dovetailing into a squad plying with unbridled joy, readying themselves for an abiding partnership with one of the most revered figures on the blue patch of Merseyside.
It’s worth noting that he’s only featured two times for his new English outfit, but has made an impression in both contests. Against Bournemouth in the FA Cup, Alcaraz was a bright spark off the bench, neat in possession and hungry to win the ball off opponents.
His cameo against Liverpool saw him complete his one attempted dribble, win both ground duels and make a tackle, as per Sofascore, instrumental in piling on the pressure and sparking a late-stage comeback that sent Goodison into a frenzy of euphoric madness.
Alcaraz, moreover, played 19 games in the English top flight with Southampton, scoring four goals and supplying two assists for a team that was tail-spinning out of control and into the second tier back in 2022/23.
This potency could be realised with Everton now that Doucoure and Ndiaye are set to miss out later on today. This may feel like it’s to the detriment of Everton’s overall fluency, but it does present Alcaraz with a glorious opportunity to come up trumps and prove to Moyes that he deserves to play a big part over the coming months.
Everton have clearly got a top talent on their hands; when he moved to Italy on loan with Juventus last year, a buy option was inserted into the deal that totalled £40m. This makes a firm comment on his high-ceilinged future, albeit it was a move that failed to reach that permanent point.
Hailed as “one of the biggest talents” to have come from Argentina in recent years by scout Jacek Kulig, Alcaraz is gearing up to play a big role in Moyes’ Everton squad, with the glut of recent injuries set to fast-track him into a prominent role.
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