Everton opened their Premier League campaign with a 2:0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday. The result leaves Everton in seventh place on four points after two matches, while Palace sit bottom of the table with zero points from their opening two fixtures.
K. Dewsbury-Hall gave Everton the lead in the 42nd minute, a goal that came after Palace had pushed forward. Kamada picked up a yellow card shortly before, in the 30th minute, and Palace never quite got their rhythm back. Dewsbury-Hall's strike was the first real opening of the game and Everton managed to hold on until half-time.
T. Barry doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute, and by then Palace had already made two changes — Nketiah and Munoz came on together. Palace manager tried to get something back, bringing on Mateta for McNeil in the 63rd minute, but Everton's defence held firm. Palace created more chances on paper, but Everton's goals came from the moments that mattered.
Everton brought on their own players in stages, with Hackney and Barry both coming off in the 79th minute. George was replaced in the 84th minute, and Dewsbury-Hall was finally withdrawn late on in stoppage time. Palace were unable to find a way through despite enjoying 58 per cent of possession.
The statistics told a curious story. Palace had 1.96 expected goals to Everton's 1.12 and created four big chances compared to one. Yet they managed only four shots on target against Everton's five. Everton won 18 aerial duels to Palace's 13 and made 10 successful tackles, while Palace committed 15 fouls to Everton's five.
The result ends Palace's poor run of form. They lost 0:3 to Freiburg on Thursday and have now lost both their competitive matches this season. Everton, meanwhile, move into a more comfortable position after their draw with Lille in their previous outing.