Everton began their Premier League campaign in style, defeating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Goodison Park in a match that marked new manager Pierre Sage's first game in charge of the Eagles, but ended in disappointment on multiple fronts for the visitors.
David Moyes made few changes to his starting eleven, with new arrival Hayden Hackney handed a role in defensive midfield and Merlin Rohl deployed at right-back, a position that has proven problematic for the Toffees. The hosts made the breakthrough shortly before halftime through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who fired home a left-footed strike past goalkeeper Dean Henderson to give Everton the lead.
The opening period had actually favored Palace, who created several promising opportunities without capitalizing on them. Jean-Philippe Mateta, so often clinical in front of goal, squandered a close-range chance by stabbing wide and later struck the post — the same woodwork that denied Eddie Nketiah after Jordan Pickford produced an acrobatic save to tip his effort onto it.
Adam Wharton also caused problems for the Everton defense, chipping delightfully over Rohl to release Nketiah, who was thwarted by both Pickford and the post. Wharton then threaded another pass that split the Everton backline, but Mateta again failed to convert, hitting the post despite having only the goalkeeper to beat.
Everton also had a penalty appeal waved away following a lengthy VAR review, after Jaydee Canvot's attempted clearance connected with Jarrad Branthwaite, with the officials ruling Branthwaite had been in an offside position.
Despite Palace's dominance in chances created, it was Dewsbury-Hall who broke the deadlock. Daniel Munoz, a player who has been linked with a move to fill Everton's right-back vacancy, gave possession away to Harrison Armstrong, who found space for Dewsbury-Hall to finish with quality. Munoz had a chance to make amends moments later but headed wide from close range with the goal at his mercy.
The second half saw a marked shift in momentum as Everton took control. Gary Barry doubled the home side's advantage in the 53rd minute, heading downward into the net from five yards after Hackney's quickly taken free-kick was whipped in by Iliman Ndiaye with minimal fuss.
Ndiaye was among Everton's standout performers on the day, while Hackney impressed with his composure on his Premier League debut despite the club still facing selection issues that Moyes will need to address moving forward.
For Palace, the afternoon turned sour beyond the scoreline when defender Chadi Riad was stretchered off in tears during the second half, appearing to have suffered another serious knee injury. The club were already missing Ismaila Sarr, who is dealing with an injury of his own and has been strongly linked with a move to Galatasaray this summer.
Despite the result, Palace's underlying performance suggested they could easily have come away with a positive result had their finishing been sharper. The Eagles enter the new campaign having won more silverware over the past two seasons than Everton have managed in the last three decades, having lifted both the FA Cup and the UEFA Conference League — with Mateta himself the match-winner in the European final against Rayo Vallecano.
For Everton, the victory offers a timely confidence boost after finishing last season winless in their final seven matches, a run that ended any hopes of European qualification. The win also came on a symbolic day at Goodison Park, with season ticket-holder Andy Burnham attending his first match as Prime Minister.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.