David Moyes revealed that Jack Grealish played through discomfort to deliver Everton a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Crystal Palace.
He also applauded goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who marked his 300th Premier League appearance for the club with a string of vital saves.
Grealish’s close-range strike in the 93rd minute sealed the victory, and Moyes admitted: “Jack has had a couple of minor injuries, he’s had to miss the odd day’s training, but I don’t think his performances have been in question, he’s doing a lot of good things.”
He added that Grealish was part of a sluggish first half: “The team didn’t play particularly well in the first half and Jack was part of that as well.”
Pickford, for his part, stepped up when Everton needed him most. Moyes said: “His ability to make saves is something we don’t underestimate. He’s been really good since I came in, he’s been very important.”
He also joked about Pickford’s unpredictability: “We laugh about it, he’s a great kicker, but overall, he’s a terrific goalkeeper, that’s why he’s had 300 games today.”
Crystal Palace went ahead through Daniel Muñoz in the 37th minute, and Moyes acknowledged Palace’s dominance early on. He credited his substitutes, Charly Alcaraz, Beto and Tim Iroegbunam, for changing the game: “The subs made a huge impact, we needed them to change things around.”
He continued: “At half-time we needed to change the mentality, we started so poorly, we never got to grips with the game at all. We didn’t play well, but I thought we were getting better and stronger as the game went on, the boys coming off the bench made a big difference.”
Everton’s return to form comes in front of the largest regular crowds in their history at their new stadium on Merseyside.
Moyes acknowledged the importance of the home support during moments of adversity: “Whenever you go into a new stadium, you need the backing to see if they could roar us on. The support picked up and recognised a much-improved team.”
In the end, Everton stuck at their task, kept Palace out, and transformed a difficult day into a memorable late turnaround in front of a roaring home crowd.
