Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry give Toffees a winning start to Premier League campaign

22.08.2026, 19:52 skysports.com

Everton made a winning start to the new Premier League campaign by beating Crystal Palace 2-0 thanks to classy goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry.

David Moyes's side ruthlessly punished their visitors, under the new charge of Frenchman Pierre Sage, for a series of missed opportunities, scoring either side of the break to register their first opening-weekend win for five years.

The performance was symptomatic of a team maturing under the influence of wily Moyes. The Everton boss entrusted 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong with a midfield role alongside new signing Hayden Hackney. Armstrong was involved in the first goal and Hackney connected to a superb second.

The teenager's hustle turned the ball over for Dewsbury-Hall to jinx inside Chris Richards and pick out the far corner just before half-time. Shortly after the break, Hackney's quick thinking from a free-kick got Iliman Ndiaye away and he picked out Barry with a cutting cross.

"Everton did a professional job. Armstrong and Hackney were very good," reflected Tim Sherwood on Soccer Saturday.

Palace, meanwhile, faded horribly after a promising opening. Their conversion issues appear to have been carried over from last season, with Jean-Philippe Mateta guilty of spurning a prime opportunity when the game was goalless, adding to the frustration of Eddie Nketiah's earlier miss. The former Arsenal forward drew a world-class save from Jordan Pickford but should have scored with a curling effort that was tipped onto the woodwork.

Palace's expected goals tally (2.04) was their highest in a Premier League game without scoring since December 2018.

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Sky Sports' Tim Sherwood:

"I don't think there's any danger of Palace getting relegated or dragged into that sort of argument. They play a really attractive style of football but just sometimes you have to pick when to play open. They played right into the hands of Everton.

"Everton counter-attacked; they've got quality and pace on the counter and they've punished them.

"There's been some fantastic football played by Palace but they're on the wrong end of the result."

17: SAVE! Pickford denies Nketiah with a save-of-the-season contender, pushing his strike onto the frame of the goal.

38: POST! Nketiah picks out Mateta with a teasing low cross but the striker can only plant against the foot of the post.

43: GOAL! Dewsbury-Hall beats Dean Henderson with a sublime strike from a difficult angle.

53: GOAL! Barry rises highest to Ndiaye's clever cross and heads past Henderson.

68: SETBACK! Chadi Riad is stretchered off with a worrying knee injury.

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