Everton Triumphs Over Crystal Palace in Premier League Opener
Andy Burnham took his place in the plush seats at Hill Dickinson Stadium, eyes fixed on the pitch and on an Everton side stripped of the reinforcements the country has been debating all summer. No new right-back. No new centre-forward. No last-minute miracle in the market. Just David Moyes, a patched-up XI and a fanbase braced for the worst.
They walked away with exactly what they wanted.
Everton punished a wasteful Crystal Palace to open their Premier League campaign with a win that grew more emphatic as the afternoon wore on. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, carrying some of the frustration from last season on his shoulders, blasted it all away with a stunning first-half strike. Thierno Barry, the forward whose place is under threat every time the transfer rumour mill starts spinning, buried a second-half header to finish the job.
For Pierre Sage, this was a harsh, unforgiving introduction to English football. His Palace side carved Everton open early, hit the woodwork twice and then watched their opponents grow in confidence and control. To compound the misery, defender Chadi Riad limped off late on with what looked a serious injury. It felt like a long day before the clock even hit 90.
Palace strike the woodwork, Everton smell blood
Sage did not arrive with a grand tactical revolution. Palace lined up in familiar fashion, and so did their biggest flaw. The lack of a ruthless edge that dogged the Oliver Glasner era was back on show almost immediately.
Within three minutes, they should have been ahead. James Tarkowski, wearing the armband as Everton’s new captain, misjudged a header and opened the door for Eddie Nketiah down the left. Nketiah drove into space and slipped a clever ball into the path of Jean-Philippe Mateta at the near post. The finish was anything but clever. Mateta leaned back and volleyed over from close range, a let-off that stirred Everton more than it settled them.
Palace kept coming. Adam Wharton, the midfielder Sage insists will not be leaving despite Manchester City’s interest, began to dictate. His finest early touch was a gorgeous, lofted pass that dropped perfectly into Nketiah’s stride inside the area, sailing over Merlin Röhl, the young German asked to plug the gap at right-back while Everton’s search for Seamus Coleman’s successor drags on. Nketiah had time, picked his corner, and still Jordan Pickford got there, tipping the shot on to his left-hand post.
The same post came to Everton’s rescue again. Wharton combined neatly with Dwight McNeil and Nketiah, the move slicing through blue shirts and leaving Mateta free in front of goal. At full stretch, the France international beat Pickford but not the frame of the goal. Two chances gone. Two thuds against the woodwork. Two warnings Everton refused to ignore.
Five minutes later, Palace paid for all of it.
Dewsbury-Hall ignites Everton
Everton had been tentative at first, but the new faces began to settle. Hayden Hackney looked tidy, Tyrique George buzzed down the left and Röhl, despite being out of position, grew braver on the ball. There was an early opening when Dewsbury-Hall slipped Röhl into space and the midfielder squared for Iliman Ndiaye, who forced Dean Henderson into a sharp save. After that, though, the home side struggled to create anything clear.
Then Dewsbury-Hall changed the tempo.
The midfielder suddenly burst into life, driving at Palace with a twisting run that ended in a shot crashing against Chris Richards. Everton appealed for handball; the referee waved play on. Palace tried to break through Daniel Muñoz, a right-back Everton have monitored closely this summer, but Harrison Armstrong snapped into the challenge and stripped him of the ball. In that split second, Palace were exposed.
Armstrong found Dewsbury-Hall in the pocket Muñoz had vacated. One touch to set himself, one swing of the left boot, and the ball tore across Henderson into the far corner. Angled, fierce, unstoppable. Any lingering gloom from last season evaporated in the roar that followed.
Palace had another chance to respond before the interval. Muñoz, eager to atone, ghosted in front of George to meet a fine cross from Daichi Kamada. Again, the build-up was sharp. Again, the finish let them down. The Colombian’s header drifted wide of the far post, and with it went another opportunity to drag Everton back into a contest they had briefly threatened to dominate.
By then, the pattern was set. Palace had squandered their moment. Everton, emboldened by survival scars and a restless summer, looked ready to make that count.
