Keith Hackett: Crystal Palace should have had penalty vs Everton as footage is re-analysed

Keith Hackett has insisted that Crystal Palace should have won a penalty in their 2-2 draw against Everton on Sunday.

It was an entertaining match at Selhurst Park as the Eagles came from behind twice to snatch a draw.

While the points matter little for Palace, with the Europa Conference League likely to be the main focus in their final matches of the season, the hosts could have easily won.

The main contention point came when Jorgen Strand Larsen was brought down inside the Everton box in the first half.

Despite James Garner clearly not winning the ball, Thomas Bramall did not award a penalty, in what was a controversial draw at Palace, days after they progressed into the Conference League final.

Keith Hackett: James Garner clearly pushes Jorgen Strand Larsen over

Late in the first half, with the scoreline locked at 1-1, Strand Larsen picked up the ball just inside Everton’s box.

As he looked to do something with the ball, Garner came in and shoved the striker to the ground, without attempting to win the ball.

Match statsCrystal Palace Everton
Possession 59.3%40.7%
Shots2113
Shots on target86
xG2.661.55
Corners510
Palace were better than Everton according to the stats

Yet, Bramall did not see anything wrong with the challenge, and VAR seemingly agreed as they did not advise him to review the decision.

Upon reviewing the footage, Hackett claimed this was the wrong decision and exclusively told Football Insider that a penalty kick should have been awarded.

He said: “This should have been a penalty kick.

“Everton player clearly pushes his opponent, which is an offence. Determining that it is a push is that you see two hands in contact with his opponent’s chest and on contact, the bent arm straightens.

“Everton are fortunate to get away with this one.”

What did Oliver Glasner say after the Everton draw?

On paper, the result for Palace is a solid one.

Everton are pushing for European football, and the Eagles are still recovering from a massive result on Thursday in Europe.

Therefore, the fact that the club are coming away from the game thinking that they could have got three points on another day is a credit to the squad.

Speaking after the game to Sky Sports on 10 May, Oliver Glasner was pleased with the performance overall as they earned a point.

He said: “I am pleased with the performance, especially in the second half. In the end, it felt like Everton played three days ago.

“We made so much pressure, created chances and missed a few.

“I am really proud of the team’s effort and the belief we had and also the mentality to play for a win. I think it was a huge performance.”

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