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.
Your Site' 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.
Everton boss David Moyes:
"Both teams had periods in the game. We could easily have been a couple of goals down. It was a worldie save [from Pickford to deny Nketiah]. It could have gone the other way.
"Once we got the first goal, it settled us. That mattered. We had big moments, Kiernan's goal was important. We managed the game well after that and contained Palace really well."
On the midfield duo: "They done great, I'm really pleased. Harrison is earning his place in the team, he's got an opportunity here, where at other clubs he might not have. He's showed lots of good things.
"With Hayden, sometimes boys from the Championship need time, but he's done well. I have to give him praise for how quickly he's picked things up."
Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage:
"The first half we play as we decided but the second half we let the opponent score the second goal. When we had the ball, we don't play with speed. When you don't play quick, the opponent is comfortable.
"We didn't create so much in the second half. We have to be quicker in our play to be more assertive to take decisions quickly.
"We don't deserve to win this game but we deserve to win the first half. We miss something today. It's about us, we have to take the lesson and be better for the next game."
