Everton began their Premier League campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, handing new Palace boss Pierre Sage a losing start in the competition.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring shortly before half-time with a powerful strike into the top-right corner, after Palace squandered several chances, with Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Philippe Mateta both hitting the same post.
Thierno Barry doubled Everton’s advantage eight minutes into the second half, heading home from a precise cross by the impressive Iliman Ndiaye.
Palace created more chances and finished with a higher expected-goals (xG) figure of 2.04 compared to Everton’s 1.16, but their poor finishing proved costly.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford produced several important saves, including a brilliant stop to deny Nketiah, while substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen headed straight at him late on.
The defeat extended Palace’s poor record in opening Premier League games, with only two of their previous 16 managers winning their first league match in charge.
For Everton, the victory ended a seven-game winless run in the Premier League and gave David Moyes’ side a positive start to the new campaign.
The result was overshadowed for Palace by an apparent serious knee injury to Chadi Riad, who was carried off on a stretcher in stoppage time.