Everton have closed the gap to sixth-placed Manchester United to five points after Seamus Coleman netted a late winner for the Toffees against Crystal Palace.
It appeared that the game was heading towards a goalless draw until Coleman earned his team their fourth top-flight success in five outings.
As for Palace, they remain without a league win since the arrival of Sam Allardyce and the Eagles now find themselves in the relegation zone.
The home side could have taken the lead as early as the ninth minute but Christian Benteke's header clattered the crossbar before up the other end, Ross Barkley saw a shot deflected wide of the target.
Moments later, Kevin Mirallas saw an effort saved by Wayne Hennessey, with the Welsh stopper also having to be alert to keep out a Barkley attempt which seemed destined for the net.
The Merseyside outfit continued to threaten but Hennessey kept them at bay until half time as he made another intervention to keep out Ramiro Funes Mori from close range.
Palace needed a response after the break but again, it was Everton who looked the most likely goalscorers with Barkley a constant threat to the home side's backline.
However, the longer it remained 0-0, the more the pressure built on Everton to capitalise on their dominance, and Palace nearly nicked a goal with 11 minutes left when Scott Dann almost found a way past Joel Robles.
Palace would have been happy with a point but with three minutes left, they were denied when Tom Davies played in Coleman and the right-back did the rest by firing the ball into the roof of the net.
In added-on time, Robles made another solid stop from Dann and it proved to be Palace's final opportunity as Everton made it 13 points from their last five league games.
Darren Plant
