Everton began the Premier League season with victory for the first time in five years after goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry secured a win over Crystal Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
David Moyes’ side had not won in their previous seven matches, a run stretching back to the end of last season, but ended that sequence with their first victory in eight Premier League games.
The result also gave Everton their earliest winning start to a new campaign since Rafa Benitez’s team beat Southampton 3-1 in August 2021.
For Crystal Palace, the defeat marked an unhappy beginning to Pierre Sage’s reign. Sage, who guided RC Lens through an impressive Ligue 1 campaign last season, became the 15th manager to lose his first Premier League match in charge of the Eagles.
Palace were without their leading scorer from last season, Ismaila Sarr, before the match had even begun. The 28-year-old forward scored 21 goals in all competitions last term as Palace won the Conference League, but he was left out of Sage’s travelling squad while being linked with a move to Turkish club Galatasaray.
His absence was felt almost immediately. With fewer than four minutes played, Jean-Philippe Mateta sent a shot over the crossbar from inside the penalty area after Eddie Nketiah had taken advantage of a poor defensive header from James Tarkowski.
Everton responded eight minutes later with a chance of their own. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall threaded a pass through to makeshift full-back Merlin Rohl, who laid the ball off for Iliman Ndiaye. The forward’s effort went directly at Dean Henderson.
Palace continued to threaten and came close to taking the lead when both Nketiah and Mateta hit the woodwork. Those missed opportunities proved costly, as Everton moved in front three minutes before half-time.
Dewsbury-Hall found space and sent a precise effort into the far corner, leaving Henderson with no chance and giving Everton the advantage at the interval.
The hosts extended their lead only eight minutes into the second half. Ndiaye delivered a dangerous cross into the area, and Thierno Barry met it from close range to head beyond Henderson.
Palace’s difficult afternoon then took another turn for the worse midway through the second half when defender Chadi Riad was taken from the pitch on a stretcher. Riad appeared to have suffered a serious knee injury.
Everton ultimately held on to complete a winning opening-day performance, despite the early opportunities Palace created. The outcome was particularly significant for Moyes’ side after their bleak finish to the previous campaign, while Sage’s first Premier League match in charge ended with Palace reflecting on the chances they failed to convert.