A stoppage-time header from Sebastian Bassong cancelled out Steven Naismith's first-half strike to earn Norwich City a point away to Everton this afternoon.
The Blues dominated the first half and created significantly more chances than the visitors, but do the stats tell the full story?
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the 90 minutes to determine whether 1-1 was a fair reflection of the game.
Match statistics:
Everton:
Shots 14
On target 9
Possession 56%
Corners 4
Fouls 10
Norwich City:
Shots 8
On target 4
Possession 44%
Corners 2
Fouls 18
Was the result fair?
Just about. Everton were by far the stronger team in the first half, though Norwich City fought hard enough in the second to deserve something from the game. The equaliser was somewhat contentious, but it had been coming from a long time.
Everton's performance
The Blues were impressive in the first period, particularly in the midfield. Bryan Oviedo, Naismith and Leon Osman ran the show for the first 45 minutes, yet the team failed to replicate this dominance after the break. Manager David Moyes should be concerned about his team's inability to hold on to a lead.
Norwich City's performance
The Canaries were outplayed in the first half, creating very little and looking vulnerable on the break. However, Chris Hughton's half-time team talk appeared to do the trick as they came out swinging in the second period, pressurising Everton until they found a way through. There was an element of fortune about their equaliser, but it was no less than they deserved.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Leighton Baines: The England man was a cut above the rest today. He was the driving force behind many of Everton's best moves of the game and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself. An honourable mention goes to Oviedo, who did a good job deputising for the suspended Marouane Fellaini.
Biggest gaffe
Moyes would likely tell you it was the referee Mike Jones's decision to award that late free kick against Baines, but it was the kind of situation that could have gone either way. In reality, Everton's calamitous defending of the free kick is more worthy of this award. Tim Howard and John Heitinga were caught ball watching when Bassong headed home.
Referee performance
Jones had a tough job on his hands this evening, particularly during that scrappy second half. That said, he made questionable calls throughout the game, missing bad challenges while awarding free kicks for perfectly legitimate ones. The late free kick call against Baines proved decisive, and it could really have gone either way.
What next?
Everton: The Blues have a real fight on their hands if they want to get back into those Champions League places, and they have a very tricky run of games coming up, with a home fixture against Arsenal next and a visit to Manchester City the following weekend.
Norwich City: Norwich continue to steadily improve after a trouble start to the campaign. They face a tough scrap against Southampton away from home next weekend.
Mark Langshaw
