Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace: Toffees Punish Wasteful Eagles in Premier League Opener

Everton 2–0 Crystal Palace (Dewsbury-Hall 42’, Barry 53’)

Everton made a brilliant start to their Premier League season as they held off a threatening Crystal Palace side to eventually cruise to a comfortable 2–0 victory at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

After failing to win in their last seven games at the back end of last season, David Moyes’ men emerged victorious thanks to goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry, extending their unbeaten run against the Eagles to 13 games.

Pierre Sage joins 14 other Crystal Palace managers who failed to win on their Premier League debut, but the Frenchman’s men did put up a good fight, especially in the first half.

The absence of Ismaila Sarr’s finishing was evident for the Eagles, as Palace missed some crucial chances in the first 45 that should’ve put them into the lead. But their lack of clinical ability allowed the Toffees to strike against the run of play.

Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring just before half-time with a beautiful strike, before Barry doubled the lead just after the break, capitalising on a brilliant Ndiaye delivery.

The early victory sends out a big statement that Moyes and his Everton side could do what they couldn’t accomplish last season in achieving a European place this season.

For Palace, some positives were outshone by the scoreline, as new manager Pierre Sage will be hoping to avoid any more Sarr-less fixtures amid rumours of a move to Galatasaray.

MATCH REPORT

The away side started the better of the two teams, with Pierre Sage’s opening few minutes as a Premier League manager almost beginning with a bang.

A poor header from James Tarkowski allowed Eddie Nketiah to intercept down the left flank, get to the byline and cross towards Jean-Philippe Mateta, but the French striker’s close-range attempt went just over the bar.

It was an end-to-end game straight from the off, with both teams playing at a high intensity. Everton started to control the game and create some chances, but it was Crystal Palace who had the next big opportunity just after the 10-minute mark.

Tyrick Mitchell floated a brilliant cross towards the far post, as Daniel Muñoz knocked it down and fired a shot towards the top corner. Jordan Pickford was equal to it, though, and superbly tipped it over the crossbar.

The Eagles kept testing the Englishman in the Evertonian net and forced him to make another tremendous save after the Toffees finally tested Dean Henderson moments before.

Adam Wharton showed his quality as his excellent delivery found Nketiah inside the 18-yard box. The ex-Arsenal striker took it down well and attempted a curling shot towards the far corner, but Pickford stuck out a big hand to palm the effort away.

Despite Everton threatening, Sage’s men looked much more likely to score throughout the first half. The Evertonians did strike the post and had a penalty shout after Pickford’s heroics, but the offside flag denied both opportunities.

And the Eagles kept pushing and went even closer than they already had, but somehow still couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock. New signing Dwight McNeil made a driving run down the middle before finding Nketiah inside the box. The Palace striker crossed the ball towards Mateta, but his close-range effort was smacked against the post and away.

However, against the run of play, it was the home side who went ahead, all thanks to brilliant work from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The ex-Leicester midfielder was picked out by Harrison Armstrong, with Dewsbury-Hall evading Chris Richards before firing a left-footed shot into the top right-hand corner.

Sage and his Palace side trailed at half-time, despite their excellent display at the Hill Dickinson Stadium throughout the first half. The hosts were lucky to go into the break with the lead, but the Eagles’ poor finishing let them down, and they had a lot of work to do to overturn a deficit in front of a loud Evertonian crowd.

The Conference League winners made the worst possible start to the second half, as David Moyes’ men doubled their lead just seven minutes in. Great work from Iliman Ndiaye saw him skip past a defender and send an exquisite cross into the box, which Thierno Barry got on the end of and headed past Henderson for 2–0.

It was the French striker’s ninth Premier League goal for his side, with six coming at the Hill Dickinson.

The Toffees, after a shaky first half, started to dominate and went close to a third immediately after Barry’s header. Former Chelsea winger Tyrique George ran down the left-hand side before picking out Ndiaye, with the Senegalese’s strike forcing Henderson into a save.

The game eventually settled, as Crystal Palace enjoyed the majority of possession without looking like scoring. The hosts were cruising to victory as the clock ticked by and nearly added a third with a quarter of an hour to go.

Ndiaye’s quick feet allowed him to find George inside the box, but the winger flashed a left-footed strike well over the woodwork. The young 20-year-old winger was enjoying himself out there and looked full of confidence after his move from Chelsea was made permanent.

The game eventually fizzled out, as Everton cruised to a good three points to start their season and potentially point towards a European charge. Pierre Sage’s Crystal Palace fell to defeat, but there were encouraging signs throughout the game. Ultimately, they couldn’t convert their big early chances.

The Toffees ended the 3pm kick-off in third, while Crystal Palace dropped to 18th.

MOTM: Iliman Ndiaye