Grealish’s 93rd-minute twist ends Palace’s 19-game run as Everton rally late

Jack Grealish scored a stoppage-time winner to complete Everton’s come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, shattering the visitors’ club-record 19-match unbeaten run on a raucous afternoon at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Daniel Muñoz’s 37th-minute strike had put Oliver Glasner’s side on course for another statement win before Iliman Ndiaye’s 76th-minute penalty and Grealish’s dramatic intervention flipped the script.

Palace controlled long stretches and created the better chances, with Tyrick Mitchell striking a post and Jordan Pickford—on his 300th Premier League appearance—forced into several sharp saves. But David Moyes’ half-time changes injected urgency, and after Maxence Lacroix conceded a spot-kick for a clumsy collision with substitute Tim Iroegbunam, Everton’s belief surged. Dean Henderson denied Beto from point-blank range in stoppage time, only for Muñoz’s attempted clearance to cannon off Grealish into the roof of the net.

Palace in command, Everton on the ropes

Glasner’s team set an authoritative tone. Mitchell rattled the woodwork early, and Pickford’s gloves were warmed by efforts that showcased the visitors’ poise. Marc Guéhi and Jean-Philippe Mateta both drew strong stops as Everton struggled to disrupt Palace’s rhythm or build sustained pressure of their own.

The breakthrough arrived on 37 minutes and was as precise as it was patient. Ismaïla Sarr slid a perfectly weighted pass to the overlapping Muñoz on the right, and the Colombia international poked calmly past Pickford for his second goal in as many games. Everton, sloppy and slow, were booed off at the break as Palace looked primed to make it three league away wins on the spin.

Moyes’s changes alter the rhythm

Moyes removed Tyler Dibling and Thierno Barry at half-time, turning to Beto and Carlos Alcaraz. The effect was immediate: Everton pressed higher, passed with more conviction and finally asked questions of a Palace back line that had cruised through the first period. Even then, Palace carved the clearer openings; Mateta had two gilt-edged moments, including one that was somehow sliced wide after a deflection fell kindly.

Moyes would later admit Palace could have been out of sight—three up, even—before the turning point arrived. The visitors’ failure to land a decisive second left a door ajar, and the home crowd felt the shift as Everton’s substitutes drove the game towards the Park End.

The penalty that reopened the door

The equaliser owed to a lapse and Everton’s renewed thrust. Vitalii Mykolenko’s pass towards Beto was misread by Lacroix, who then collided with Iroegbunam as the midfielder burst in on his blind side. The referee pointed to the spot, and Ndiaye coolly sent Henderson the wrong way on 76 minutes to level the contest.

Parity transformed the mood and the momentum. Palace, so assured for an hour, were suddenly forced to retreat as Alcaraz took up clever positions and Beto bullied the central channels. The noise, fretful earlier, became a force in its own right as the clock ticked into stoppage time.

A fortunate finish, a famous roar

In added time Alcaraz released Ndiaye on the right, and the forward’s teasing cross found Beto six yards out. Henderson produced a superb reflex save, but the danger wasn’t cleared. Muñoz swung a boot at the loose ball and his clearance ricocheted off Grealish, flashing into the roof of the net for the cruellest of winners.

Grealish’s first Everton goal, deep into the 93rd minute, ignited bedlam and ended the longest unbeaten run in Palace’s history. The winger, on loan from Manchester City, “knew little about it” by the letter of the deflection, but he had gambled in the right area and wrote the afternoon’s final line.

Context and consequence

For Everton, this felt like lift-off at a stadium where they remain unbeaten. It was their first league win since August, achieved through resilience, smart substitutions and a late surge that matched the crowd’s resolve. Grealish has supplied multiple assists since arriving; here he answered his manager’s call to add goals.

For Palace, the pain was immediate. This was a first defeat since 16 April, and Glasner lamented not deciding the game when the chances appeared. His side have coped well with the Thursday–Sunday rhythm, but after a midweek European win in Poland they lacked the ruthlessness to kill an opponent who refused to fold.