Danny Murphy singles out James Garner for error on Ismaila Sarr goal in Everton draw vs Crystal Palace

Everton kept their hopes of securing European football alive as they played out a 2-2 draw away at Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

James Tarkowski netted the opener to set the Toffees on their way in just the sixth minute of the action, before Ismaila Sarr levelled for the hosts midway through the first half.

Beto then put Everton back in front just two minutes after the half-time interval, before Jean-Philippe Mateta drew Palace level once again when he fired into the roof of the net with 77 minutes gone.

David Moyes men are now sitting tenth heading into the final two games of the Premier League season, and they remain unaware as to how far down the table the European places will ultimately stretch.

Everton’s draw at Crystal Palace keeps them in the hunt, but they will need favourable results from their remaining games against Sunderland and Tottenham.

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Garner’s performances have been a shining light for Everton this season, and his form across the campaign has been strong enough to earn him senior England caps for the first time in his career.

The 25-year-old has been a constant in the middle of the park for Moyes’ men this term, having started in all 36 of their league games up until this point.

He has also posted a career-best nine goal contributions in the Premier League, a tally which he will be hoping to add to in the coming weeks.

Danny Murphy took the opportunity to praise him again during his analysis on Match of the Day on Sunday night, but he also singled him out for the way he defended Sarr’s opener for the hosts.

The former Liverpool man felt that Garner sagged back too deep into the Toffees’ box, allowing Sarr the space to latch onto his own rebound and find the bottom corner.

“Garner was great again today,” the 49-year-old said.

“He got back to try to help Michael Keane, but he’s too deep. He has to get closer to the ball. He’s dropped too deep, as have the back four.

Ismaïla Sarr smashes home and Palace are level!

His 20th goal in all competitions this season 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/J4ZwJsdC0W

“Keane doesn’t quite get the clearance right, and it’s 1-1. Easily avoidable (for Everton) in my opinion.”

Football Insider revealed at the start of April that Everton’s move to hand Garner a new contract earlier in the year has “sent the right signals” to the rest of Moyes’ group.

The England star reaffirmed his commitment to the project at the Hill Dickinson Stadium by penning the new deal, despite there being strong interest from clubs at the top end of the league.

The Toffees’ newfound ability to keep hold of their best players has buoyed the rest of the group in recent weeks, and they will surely feel they still have a strong chance of getting into Europe for next term.

Everton have made significant progress on the pitch in 2025-26, and keeping hold of the likes of Garner long-term is only going to help them take even greater strides in the coming years.

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