Inside ecstatic Everton dressing room celebrations as Frank Lampard’s side seal survival

Everton’s players let loose in the dressing room celebrating their Premier League survival after Frank Lampard’s side produced a superb comeback to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Goodison Park

The home dressing room at Goodison Park briefly became the wildest party venue on Merseyside following Everton ‘s dramatic 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday.

The Toffees secured their Premier League status for another season with the win, having been 2-0 down at half-time. Goals from Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin turned things around in the second half, putting Leeds and Burnley in a straight shootout to avoid relegation on what promises to be a sensational final day of the top-flight season this Sunday.

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Frank Lampard ‘s side prompted two separate pitch invasions thanks to their triumph, the latter of which came after their final whistle and saw Palace boss Patrick Vieira lash out by kicking an Everton supporter in some unsavoury scenes. Lampard was understandably the happier manager, especially judging by Alex Iwobi ‘s Snapchat story.

The former Arsenal midfielder posted the behind-the-scenes celebrations on social media, with the Toffees lapping up their achievement. Drinks were flowing and defender Mason Holgate showed off his dance moves to his teammate’s camera, singing topless to Sean Kingston ‘s ‘Beautiful Girls’.

Iwobi also filmed himself drinking with substitute Demarai Gray, who made an impact by providing the assist for Calvert-Lewin’s rapturous 85th-minute winner. Leaving the party for a short while to conduct his post-match press conference, Lampard described the night as “one of the greatest moments of my footballing life and career”.

“I have been very fortunate to have amazing times, especially at Chelsea as a player and a coach. But when you feel the feelings and desperation of what relegation brings to the table, it is different,” the 43-year-old, who replaced Rafa Benitez in January, explained. “I thought I might cry [at full-time], I thought I might jump out of my body.

“Nobody can question the celebrations at the end. It is easy to say ‘but you haven’t won anything’. You know what, come and work at this club for a few months and see the difficulties and what it means to people to stay in this league. It is a special night in Everton’s history.”

Lampard also addressed Vieira’s altercation with a fan, with pitch invasions across the country grabbing the headlines for the wrong reasons as the campaign draws to a close. The Frenchman had to walk across the field of play after the final whistle in order to get the away dressing room, as opposed to simply going down the Goodison Park tunnel between the two dugouts, as was the norm pre-pandemic.

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That was an issue Lampard sympathised with Vieira on. “I feel for Patrick because I didn’t get him at the end because of how it all erupted for us,” Lampard added. “I would have said: ‘Come in with us’. They might not have wanted that but I’d have said: ‘Come in with us’.

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“I know how managers feel and I get that. And, of course, he’s running across the pitch of 80 yards of our fans coming on. It’s not easy. There’s nothing from me. Not any issues. It was pure elation of fans who want to stay in the Premier League that come on the pitch.”