A year and a day previously, Everton secured their top-flight status in their penultimate fixture as they dramatically came from 2-0 down to defeat Crystal Palace at Goodison Park 3-2.
But while they weren’t able to rubber stamp their position here, they found themselves celebrating an even later goal here from Yerry Mina that could prove crucial in avoiding a first relegation in 72 years.
Back when they clipped the Eagles’ wings, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the Blues’ 85th-minute match-winner. But their number nine had already long departed the contest here at Molineux on what had looked like being a costly defeat with Nathan Patterson also going off injured.
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Everton’s centre-forward had limped off in first-half stoppage-time in a moment that seemed to spell the end of his team’s hopes. But the tables were turned in the second half when fourth official James Linington raised his board to display nine additional minutes in what was a marathon amount of stoppage-time to hand the visitors a glimmer of hope.
The Blues hadn’t looked like getting back into this contest after Hwang Hee-Chan had broken the deadlock on 34 minutes but a full nine minutes into the extra period, their centre-back trio combined to somehow fashion an equaliser. James Tarkowski nodded down a cross from Demarai Gray, Michael Keane squared to Mina and the Colombian poked home from point-blank range.
Loyal but long-suffering Evertonians now face another nerve-racking couple of days as Leeds United head to David Moyes’ West Ham United on Sunday and Leicester City travel to Newcastle United on Monday.
It remains to be seen just what kind of display West Ham put in on the back of reaching the Europa Conference League final but on paper at least, Everton had the most favourable couple of fixtures in the run-in given that they were facing other teams in the bottom half of the table who are already safe.
The only thing certain for the Blues now is that for the third time in Premier League history, they’ll be requiring a result going into the final day of the season when Bournemouth visit Goodison Park. But it’s now looking considerably rosier than it could have been just seconds before the final whistle.
