LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first goal of the season as Everton ended their three-match losing streak in the Premier League with an impressive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at home on Saturday.
Frank Lampard’s team climbed four spots up to 11th in the league table on 13 points after 12 games, while Palace slipped to 12th on 13 points with a game in hand.
“For the team and for myself to get the win today it went exactly how I hoped,” Calvert-Lewin said.
“It’s been a while, one I’ve been waiting for, one I’ve been looking forward to and I felt like myself today. It’s been a long time coming but great to get the result.
“A lot of hard work has gone into getting that first goal so I am over the moon.”
Calvert-Lewin, playing in his fourth game after returning from a knee injury, put Everton ahead in the 11th minute when he picked up a clever pass from Alex Iwobi and flicked the ball around Marc Guehi before slotting it into the bottom corner.
Ten minutes later, Anthony Gordon came close to doubling the hosts’ lead with a long-range strike which forced a save from Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, who got a fingertip to the ball to tip it over.
Palace made a bright start in the second half as Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew looked dangerous in the Everton box, but the home side’s defenders kept them quiet.
Gordon finally got his goal in the 63rd minute when he tapped in the rebound from Vitaliy Mykolenko’s saved shot, but the goal was disallowed for offside. The VAR later overturned the decision as the crowd at Goodison Park burst into celebrations.
Dwight McNeil came off the bench and scored in the 84th minute to wrap up the win for Everton as he finished off a brilliant team move, slotting home after a clever one-two with Iwobi, who bagged his second assist of the game.
The result ended Palace’s unbeaten run of three league games and also means that they are yet to win an away league game this term.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)
