Everton's Youthful Midfield Shines in Season Opener

Everton arrived at Goodison Park carrying the weight of last season’s seven-game winless slide. They left with something far more useful: a statement.

A sharp, energetic 2-0 win over Crystal Palace opened their Premier League campaign and, just as striking as the scoreline, it was the make-up of the team that caught the eye.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall smashed in a thunderous opener just before half-time, Thierno Barry killed it after the break, and David Moyes walked away purring over a midfield that suddenly looks younger, braver and far more dynamic.

Moyes leans into youth – and gets his reward

This was no grizzled, safety-first XI. Moyes sent out a side with an average age of 25 years and 308 days – the second-youngest of his second spell at the club, only topped by last December’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

At the heart of that were two fresh faces: 19-year-old academy product Harrison Armstrong and summer signing Hayden Hackney, 24, recruited from Middlesbrough.

"They were great, I'm really pleased," Moyes told Everton’s website. "Harrison is earning his place in the team. He's got an opportunity here, where at other clubs he might not have. He's shown 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."

Armstrong’s energy and willingness to show for the ball gave Everton a different rhythm in midfield, while Hackney’s composure and range of passing helped them play through Palace’s press when the game threatened to get away from them.

This wasn’t just a nod to the future. It was a gamble in the present – and it paid off.

Palace hit the woodwork, Everton hit back

For all the talk of Everton’s control, they had to survive a rocky first half.

Palace carved them open more than once and should have made them pay. Eddie Nketiah went through one-on-one, only for Jordan Pickford to get the faintest of touches and divert his effort onto the post. Jean-Philippe Mateta also struck the upright as the visitors repeatedly found space.

"Both teams had periods in the game. We could easily have been a couple of goals down – it was a worldie save and it could have gone the other way," Moyes admitted.

The numbers back him up. Palace finished with a higher expected goals total – 2.04 to Everton’s 1.16 – despite taking just 11 shots to the hosts’ 16. A huge chunk of that, 1.65 xG, came before the interval.

But just when Palace’s pressure seemed set to define the half, Everton flipped the narrative.

Dewsbury-Hall picked his moment, unleashing a rasping strike on 42 minutes that ripped past the goalkeeper and changed the entire mood inside Goodison. One chance, taken ruthlessly, and the tension that had clung to Everton since the end of last season started to loosen.

"Once we got the first goal, it settled us. That mattered. We had big moments; Kiernan's goal was important," Moyes said.

Sage rues missed chances and fading standards

On the opposite bench, new Palace boss Pierre Sage had every right to feel conflicted. His team did plenty right before the break, yet had nothing to show for it.

"We played in the right way to win in the first half, but not in the second," he told Palace TV. "But when you play in this direction, you have to score.

"We missed two or three big opportunities, and we gave the goal to the opponent. That's why the second half was difficult, with them getting the second goal too."

Palace’s drop-off after half-time was stark. The movement dulled, the tempo slipped, and the sharpness that had troubled Everton’s back line faded. Everton sensed it and tightened their grip.

"Sometimes, you know, you do the job but you don't get the salary at the end – and today it was like that," Sage added. "Sometimes you play very well and you can keep it on YouTube, and when you lose your finishing, you take the clip and you put it in the waste. That's why a goal is very important."

His side had the data on their side. Everton had the scoreboard.

Everton manage the game – and the mood

After the break, Moyes’ team looked like a side that believed again.

Everton managed the game with a maturity that belied that youthful average age. They contained Palace, closed off central spaces, and picked their moments to break. The second goal, from Barry, underlined the shift: patient, controlled, and then decisive when the opening appeared.

"We managed the game well after that and contained Palace really well," Moyes said, and this time the eye test agreed with him more than the xG models did.

For Everton, this was about more than finally winning an opening-day Premier League fixture for the first time since August 2021, when Rafael Benitez oversaw a 3-1 victory against Southampton. They had lost each of their last four matchday one games without scoring. That kind of record hangs over a club.

This win cuts through that fog. It gives shape to Moyes’ second-era vision: younger legs, more risk, but a structure that still carries his hallmark discipline.

Next comes a midweek EFL Cup tie against Preston North End, then a trip to Bournemouth in the league. Palace, licking their wounds, must now prepare to host Manchester City on Friday.

One game in, Everton’s midfield looks reborn. The question now is simple: can this be the start of something lasting, or just a bright August flash before the grind bites back?