Senegalese star makes Everton history

Sunday was a special day for the Toffees. Everton played their first match at the new “Hill Dickinson” stadium after moving away from the famous Goodison Park. A full house welcomed the famous Liverpool club, who hosted Brighton and hoped for a good result in their debut at the new ground. And just as they had hoped, things turned out brilliantly – to twist the old saying into a positive outcome – since they were excellent in attack and survived all the pressure and their own mistakes in defense. Everton defeated Brighton 2–0 (1–0).

Iliman Ndiaye was the one who closed Goodison with a goal, and symbolically, it was the same player who opened the new stadium with a goal. A fantastic dribbler, one of the last true artists of the Premier League in that sense, he scored for the lead in the 23rd minute. Everton are dangerous on the counter – it’s maybe in the club’s DNA – and that’s how they went ahead this time too. Jack Grealish reminded everyone of his Aston Villa days, when he used to put fear into the defender marking him one-on-one, and he crowned a strong first 20 minutes with an assist. A quick counter, the ball reached the England international on the left side, he whipped it across to the far post, and Ndiaye slammed it into the net like Blake Griffin in the NBA – soaring in the air without even touching the rim.

Just five minutes before the goal, Mitoma had struck the crossbar, Welbeck sent the rebound over, and Barry almost scored at the other end. Maybe it wasn’t expected that an Everton–Brighton game would be played at such pace with so many chances flowing one after another. Along with Mitoma, Van Hecke also rattled the woodwork, smashing the left post, while Jordan Pickford had to clean up the mess made by his center-backs. A huge mistake by Tarkowski, who lost the ball right outside the box, could have cost the Toffees dearly, but England’s number one saved O’Riley’s shot to the bottom-left corner and rescued Everton.

Yellow cards flew, there were tough tackles and tense moments, but the football itself was excellent. Jack Grealish recorded another assist in the 52nd minute – it couldn’t have been easier (his first time contributing to two goals in a Premier League match since April 2023). He received the ball again on the left flank and simply laid it back from the edge of the box for James Garner. Running onto it, Garner struck from 18 meters and buried the ball into the bottom-left corner, doubling the Toffees’ lead with a beautiful goal.

Grealish is finally a Toffee

And then came the classic Everton style – defense. The hosts sat deep and defended against the clueless Seagulls, who out of nowhere earned a penalty in the 76th minute. The ball struck Dewsbury-Hall’s hand after Minteh’s cross, and the referee didn’t hesitate to point to the spot. Danny Welbeck stepped up, but Pickford saved the penalty! That was his eighth penalty save since joining Everton in 2017 – only Lukasz Fabianski (10) has more in that period. When it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be – that was Brighton’s afternoon.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2

Friday

West Ham - Chelsea 1-5 (1-3)

/Paqueta 6 - Pedro 15, Neto 23, Fernandez 34, Caicedo 54, Chalobah 58/

Saturday

Man.City - Tottenham 0-2 (0-2)

/Johnson 35, Palhinha 45+2/

Bournemouth - Wolverhampton 1-0 (1-0)

/Tavernier 4/

Brentford - Aston Villa 1-0 (1-0)

/Outtara 13/

Burnley - Sunderland 2-0 (0-0)

/Cullen 47, Anthony 88/

Arsenal - Leeds 5-0 (2-0)

/Timber 34, 56, Saka 45+1, Gyokeres 48, 90+5 pen/

Sunday

Crystal Palace - Nott.Forest 1-1 (1-0)

/Sarr 37 - Hudson-Odoi 57/

Everton - Brighton 2-0(1-0)

/Ndiaye 23, Garner 52/

18.30: (3.60) Fulham (3.50) Man.Utd. (2.15)

Monday

22.00: (3.40) Newcastle (3.50) Liverpool (2.10)

***odds are subject to change***