sport news The key moments in how Everton avoided the ignominy of relegation from the ... trends now

After months of nerve-shredding tension, dread and perhaps even an acceptance that their long, unbroken stint in the top division of English football may be coming to an end, Everton fans can finally breathe easy after their dramatic victory over Crystal Palace.

Frank Lampard's side were two goals down at half-time and faced the possibility of going into the final day of the season with their Premier League status under severe threat.

But then the Toffees launched a rousing comeback as goals from Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the second half sent Goodison Park into raptures. It means Everton will be playing Premier League football next season.

There have been times - to many for Everton fans to count - where that felt like a distant dream. 

When Lampard took over to replace the sacked Rafael Benitez in January, Everton were languishing in 16th place with one win and three draws from their previous 14 matches. The tide was seemingly only going one way.

Fast forward less than six months and Everton are safe. Here, Sportsmail looks at the key moments that contributed to the Toffees' survival, what Lampard has got right and wrong and what he needs to do next season to avoid another relegation scrap.

Key moments

Beating Newcastle with 10 men - March 17

While there were few tears shed among the Goodison faithful when Benitez was finally dismissed, Lampard's arrival did not exactly spark the typical new manager bounce.

Lampard had won only one league game before Newcastle, themselves enjoying a resurgence under Eddie Howe, arrived at Goodison Park for a vital midweek fixture where both the Blues manager and their supporters were desperate for three points.

A tense contest appeared to be heading for a draw and things looked to have got worse for the home side when they had Brazilian midfielder Allan controversially sent off with seven minutes to go.

The nerves inside the ground were palpable and, as the clock ticked towards the 100th minute, Alex Iwobi scored a well-worked winner to spark delirium in the stands.

The win moved Everton three points clear of Watford with two games in hand. There are no doubt some Evertonians who feel their fate may have been very different had they not secured that last-gasp victory.

Defeat to Burnley sparking a comeback - April 6

This contest at Turf Moor was the very definition of the cliched relegation six-pointer.

And all was going well for Lampard's side as they recovered from an early setback to take a 2-1 lead into break thanks to two penalties from Richarlison.

What followed was the stuff of nightmares for Everton fans as Jay Rodriguez levelled before Maxwel Cornet scored what proved to be the winner five minutes from time.

Victory for Burnley saw them close the gap to Everton in 17th to just a single point. If Lampard was not fearful before, he would almost certainly have been now.

Yet the result seemed to light a fire in Everton. Perhaps the magnitude of the defeat hit home as it prompted a fightback that ultimately ended in confirming safety against Palace on Wednesday night.

Three points against a hapless United - April 9

Barely three days later, Everton had the chance to immediately bounce back and respond to the disappointing defeat to Burnley when Manchester United came to town knowing that they could end up in the bottom three if results went against them.

While United, whose top-four hopes were fading fast by this point, would have been the choice of opponents for most of the league at the time given their well-documented troubles, Everton still had to get the job done - and they did. Just.

In truth, the match would probably have ended in a dull stalemate had Anthony Gordon's strike from outside the area midway through the first half not taken a wicked deflection which spun the ball out of David de Gea's reach.

United barely troubled after that as Everton's defence held firm to give them some breathing space in the relegation dogfight and lift what had been a growing gloom over Goodison.

Back-to-back victories for the first time since August - May 1 and May 8

Chelsea were the visitors to Goodison on the first day in May for a contest which pitted Lampard against the team he made his name for during his playing career and the side he had most recently managed.

It was always going to be an emotional day for Chelsea's record goalscorer but he held his nerve in the dugout and guided his new club to a famous win.

Richarlison may have got the winning goal but Everton owed much to Jordan Pickford, who made several superb saves to keep Chelsea at bay and preserve the three points.

Seven days later, Everton travelled to Leicester hoping to continue their decent run of form following the loss to Burnley. 

Lampard's side emerged with a 2-1 victory as goals from Vitaliy Mykolenko and Mason Holgate saw them climb out of the relegation zone. They have not been in the dreaded bottom three since. 

What Lampard has got right

Reconnected with the fans

The mood at Goodison with Benitez at the helm is perhaps as low as it has ever been.

The Spaniard's appointment was unpopular in the first place, given his spell in charge of Merseyside rivals Liverpool, and it was always going to turn toxic. Benitez never threatened to do enough to change that.

Enter Lampard, who is arguably the opposite of

read more from dailymail.....