Everton Open 2026-27 Premier League Season With 2-0 Win Over Crystal Palace
Key Takeaways
- •Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave Everton the lead in the 42nd minute before Thierno Barry scored again in the 53rd minute.
- •Everton defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 and kept a clean sheet in their Premier League opener.
- •The victory extended Everton’s unbeaten run against Palace across all competitions to 12 matches.
- •Crystal Palace created several clear chances but failed to convert any of them.
- •Pierre Sage suffered a losing Premier League debut as Crystal Palace manager, while defender Chadi Riad left the match with an apparent serious injury.
Everton began the 2026-27 Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, keeping a clean sheet and scoring twice. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, and Thierno Barry added a second in the 53rd. Crystal Palace created several clear chances but failed to convert any of them.
Everton extend unbeaten run against Palace
Played on August 22 at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium — the club's new waterfront home, opened in 2025 to replace Goodison Park after more than 130 years — in front of 51,820 supporters, the match extended one of the more lopsided rivalries in recent Premier League memory. Everton entered the fixture on an 11-game unbeaten run against Crystal Palace across all competitions — a streak that now stands at 12.
David Moyes, back in the Everton dugout for a second spell after his original 11-year tenure at the club from 2002 to 2013, had spent the summer watching his club fail to land a new right-back or centre-forward. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and a lifelong Evertonian, watched from the directors' box.
Barry is playing under a particular kind of pressure. With Everton still reportedly hunting for a new striker before the transfer deadline closes, every start functions as an audition. His headed goal was the sort of emphatic response that buys time.
A difficult debut for Pierre Sage
For Crystal Palace, the afternoon marked a painful Premier League debut for new manager Pierre Sage, who took over at Selhurst Park in June on a three-year deal after leaving Lens. His side created enough chances to win the match but could not finish any of them.
The more immediate concern is defender Chadi Riad, who went down late in the match with what appeared to be a potentially serious injury.
Palace had previously enjoyed a period of stability and upward trajectory under former manager Oliver Glasner, whose tenure included the club's first major trophy, the 2025 FA Cup. Sage now inherits a squad that needs to adapt to a new tactical system while simultaneously dealing with the psychological weight of an opening-day defeat.
