Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace: Palace hit the woodwork twice, Everton hit the net twice
Crystal Palace had 58% of the ball, four big chances and an xG of 2.04. They lost 2-0. Dewsbury-Hall and Barry scored, Pickford saved what needed saving, and Everton won on opening weekend for the first time in five years.
Some 2-0s are comfortable. This one was not. Crystal Palace were the better side at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for long stretches and lost anyway, which is a very Premier League way to begin a season.
Eddie Nketiah curled one against the post after a fine Jordan Pickford save. Jean-Philippe Mateta, played clean through, hit the woodwork too. Palace finished with four big chances created and an expected goals figure of 2.04 — nearly double Everton's.
Everton finished with two goals. That is the whole match in one sentence.
Two moments, taken properly
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall broke the deadlock just before half-time, a thunderous strike into the top-right corner that gave the goalkeeper no say in it at all.
Eight minutes into the second half, Iliman Ndiaye delivered from the right and Thierno Barry headed the second. David Moyes's side had taken their two clear openings and were never required to create a third.
It is Everton's first opening-weekend win in five years. It is also a losing debut for Pierre Sage as Crystal Palace manager, on an afternoon where almost everything except the scoreline went his way.
Match facts
- 42' — Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton)
- 53' — Thierno Barry (Everton), assisted by Ndiaye
- Palace hit the post twice: Nketiah and Mateta
- Big chances created: Crystal Palace 4, Everton 1
| Stat | Everton | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 42.1% | 57.9% |
| Total shots | 16 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 4 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 1.16 | 2.04 |
| Corners | 4 | 0 |
| Fouls conceded | 5 | 15 |
| Offsides | 2 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 1 |
How it unfolded
Palace controlled the first half without ever leading it. Nketiah's curler was the best move of the game and Pickford turned it onto the post. Mateta's miss, one-on-one, is the kind that gets replayed all week.
Everton absorbed it, then landed two clean punches either side of the interval. Fifteen fouls to five tells you how ragged Palace became once they went behind — and they still could not force Pickford into the save that mattered.
What's next
Everton go to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday 29 August looking to make this a proper start rather than a stolen one. Crystal Palace host Manchester City on Friday 28 August — a brutal draw for a side that will spend the week being told how well it played.
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