Townsend turning point
Up until Andros Townsend went down off the ball after just over 10 minutes of play, Palace looked a shadow of the team they have grown into over the course of the season. Wasted passes, overhit crosses and poor decision making cost them time and time again as the Toffees got up into Palace players’ faces and looked like they hadn’t read the script of the day.
Thankfully for them, former Eagle Townsend inadvertently provided the quick break in play that allowed them to regroup and reset, with the hosts looking a different side after switching tactics and looking to hit Jean-Philippe Mateta with long passes. The Frenchman linked play well and helped slowly turn the tide to give Palace the upper hand before Marc Guehi opened the scoring from a corner.
“We didn't make any changes,” said Vieira when asked if his tactics were altered by Townsend’s ankle injury. “We were just seeing the changes that they were going to make and working out if that will have an impact on what we were trying to do or what we wanted to do.”
READ MORE: Crystal Palace player ratings vs Everton: Mateta's best game, Guehi dominant, Olise excellent
Mateta’s best game
Undoubtedly this was Mateta ’s best game in a Crystal Palace shirt, even with him being removed from play with 20 minutes of the game still to play. The Frenchman won virtually every ball that came his way and showed his clinical nature with his finish past Jordan Pickford - his fifth goal of the season for the Eagles.
His movement was exactly what Vieira would have wanted for him - finding himself the space in the box so that Wilfried Zaha could find him easily with a drilled cross into the box.
“On the defensive side and on the offensive side he was running in behind, holding the ball, stretching the opposition and their back three,” said Vieira when asked about his striker’s performance. “When he came off he’d given everything. I’m really, really happy with what he’s bringing to the team.”
With Odsonne Edouard and Christian Benteke both coming off the bench but not having a huge impact it seems clear that Mateta will finish the season up front as Vieira’s preferred choice.
Into the last four
If Patrick Vieira’s first season in charge at Crystal Palace hasn’t been memorable enough already, it’s about to go to a whole new level as the Eagles head to Wembley next month to face Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final.
It’s only the second time in 25 years that the club have made it to the last four of the competition, with either Liverpool or Manchester City awaiting them in the showpiece final on May 14 if they manage to get there.
Had they lost their quarter-final against Everton on Sunday there would have been an overwhelming sense of ‘what if’ around Vieira’s first season in English football. With Palace mid-table and seemingly with no threat of relegation or pushing for a European spot, a loss against the Toffees would have effectively ended their season two months early.
But instead, the club now gets to revel in all the glory that comes with a semi-final appearance at Wembley, where at least 30,000 fans will descend on the national stadium for a fierce London derby against the Blues. Vieira, his players, coaches and the staff will no doubt enjoy the occasion, although their focus will be solely on causing an upset and pushing their FA Cup dream one step closer.
Guehi’s magical week
It’s been a week of dreams for newly-promoted Palace skipper Marc Guehi, who started on Monday by keeping a clean sheet against Premier League leaders Manchester City at Selhurst Park. He was then included in Gareth Southgate’s senior England squad for the international friendlies vs Switzerland and Ivory Coast alongside teammate and close friend Conor Gallagher.
To finish off the week, he opened the scoring against Everton with a precise header into the bottom corner of Pickford’s goal, celebrating with his arms outstretched as he put Palace firmly on the road to Wembley and the FA Cup semi-finals.
“It is a big week for him,” said Vieira. “The call-up the national team and then scoring the goal. We needed that goal at that moment to get back into the game and this is Marc. He is really calm and really composed and you can see the way he celebrated the goal that he is doing really well.”
Guehi finished Sunday’s game against Everton with the most clearances on the pitch (seven) as well as completing the second-most long balls of any outfield player. He now has four goals for the season following his goal against Hartlepool in the Fourth Round, plus Premier League efforts against Burnley and Aston Villa.
