FEATURE: 5 MOST IMPORTANT EVERTON MATCHES OF 2021-22 SEASON

Photo credit: Phil Noble (Reuters)

It’s been nearly two weeks since the 2021-22 season came to a close and yet still most Evertonians won’t quite have digested everything that happened yet.

It was a campaign of twists and turns, plenty of drama, some dark days and some unforgettable ones too. It encompassed two managers, one who cemented his status as one of the most dislikeable figures in the club’s history and another who has unified the fanbase in a way not seen since the days of David Moyes.

For a large portion of the season, relegation was a genuine worry, to an extent not seen since the 1990s. But ultimately it will be a campaign remembered for fans and players responding to the threat and inspiring one another to see it off.

Perhaps the easiest way to break down Everton’s season would be by going over the five most significant matches in chronological order.

1. Everton 1-4 Liverpool – December 1, 2021

Photo credit: Robbie Jay Barratt (AMA)

This was arguably the lowest point of Rafael Benitez’s tenure as Everton boss and probably should have been his last match in charge. By the time the free-scoring Liverpool came calling to Goodison Park on a Wednesday night, the defensive frailties plus impotent attack under the Spaniard held in such high regard by their deadly rivals were there for all to see. The Toffees had lost six of their last eight matches and were sliding towards the relegation places after a surprisingly strong start to the campaign. They weren’t about to turn around their fortunes against the Reds and they fell to a 4-1 defeat, their heaviest home defeat in a Merseyside Derby in 35 years.

2. Everton 1-0 Newcastle United – March 17, 2022

Photo credit: Anthony Devlin (AFP)

About six weeks into Frank Lampard’s reign, the former Chelsea man had made a slow start to reversing the Blues’ fortunes and they were hovering in 17^th, with just one league win since the start of December. In a match that was originally meant to be played in December, before Newcastle had a chance to splash their newly-discovered riches in the January transfer window, the Toffees had their work cut out for them if they were to secure a crucial three points. But in a dramatic turn of events, that included an eight-minute delay after a protestor cable-tied himself to the Gwladys Street goalpost as well as a controversial Allan sending off, a 99^th minute Alex Iwobi winner sent Goodison Park into absolute delirium.

3. Burnley 3-2 Everton – April 6, 2022

Photo credit: Jan Kruger (Getty Images)

Just a few weeks after that thrilling late victory came one of the most important matches of the season for Everton against their nearest opponents for the drop. With a couple of games in hand, the Toffees knew a win at Burnley would almost surely be enough to push away from the relegation places. But in an extremely poor show of character, the Blues spurned a 2-1 lead through two Richarlison penalties and were defeated 3-2 thanks to Maxwel Cornet’s winner on 85 minutes. After this loss, many Evertonians will have been fearing the worst.

4. Everton 1-0 Chelsea – May 1, 2022

Photo credit: Tony McArdle (Getty Images)  

After the Burnley defeat, Everton actually managed to turn their form around somewhat with a hard-fought win over Manchester United, a draw against Leicester secured in the dying embers as well as a credible display at Anfield, despite a 2-0 loss. The Goodison faithful had forcefully responded to the lack of character so evident at Turf Moor and decided they would do all in their power to drag the players over the line themselves. Never was this more evident than for a clash against Chelsea. Fireworks were set off outside the hotel Chelsea were staying at the night before and a massive parade down Goodison Road greeted the arrival of the Everton team bus. Once inside the ground, an explosive atmosphere inspired the Everton players to dig in and produce a 1-0 win. The image of Richarlison holding the blue smoke bomb aloft after scoring the winner will go down as one of the most iconic Everton images of all time.

5. Everton 3-2 Crystal Palace – May 19, 2022

Photo credit: Sebastian Frej (MB Media) 

A mixed bag of results followed, starting with a magnificent 2-1 win at Leicester and then a somewhat disappointing 0-0 draw at Watford which nonetheless left Everton needing just three points in their last three games to ensure survival. But they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Brentford in their first attempt, placing huge importance on a Thursday visit from Crystal Palace. Knowing their last match was away at Arsenal, it was basically now or never if the Toffees were going to stay up on their own terms. After a near disastrous first half however, the Blues found themselves 2-0 down. Goodison continued to sing and fight however, as it had done relentlessly for the final few weeks of the season, and an outstanding comeback was launched with Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin goals securing Everton’s safety and prompting a pitch invasion and wild celebrations at the final whistle.