Thierno Barry's Impact as Everton Defeats Crystal Palace 2-0

Thierno Barry did not just score. He bought David Moyes a little breathing space.

Everton’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park looked routine on the scoreboard, but it carried a weight that went well beyond three points. A manager fuming over a quiet summer window, a forward line that misfired all last season, and a fanbase scarred by a seven-game winless collapse – all of it needed an early-season release valve. Barry provided it.

The 23-year-old Frenchman, who had to wait until December for his first Everton goal last term, needed only the opening day this time. For a club that saw its two main strikers – Barry and Beto – combine for just 18 league goals in 2025-26 and then watched no new centre-forward arrive, that matters.

Before Barry could relax anyone, though, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had to change the entire feel of the afternoon.

Dewsbury-Hall lights up a tense occasion

Goodison had an edge to it from the start. Andy Burnham, now Prime Minister and still an Everton season ticket-holder, watched on from the stands as Moyes sent out a side that looked very familiar. Too familiar, some would say.

The only fresh face in the XI was Hayden Hackney, tasked with anchoring midfield on his Premier League debut. Merlin Rohl, a midfielder by trade, again patched up the problem right-back role. It felt like last season’s squad with a new coat of paint.

For 38 minutes, it played like last season too.

Palace carved out the better chances. Jean-Philippe Mateta, usually ruthless from close range, stabbed one big opportunity wide and then smacked the post. Eddie Nketiah went even closer, his drive tipped onto the same upright by a flying Jordan Pickford. Everton were hanging on, short of ideas, short of spark.

Then the game flipped.

With half-time looming, Dewsbury-Hall seized a loose moment and lashed a left-footed drive across Dean Henderson and into the far corner. One clean strike, and the tension in the stadium snapped. The goal didn’t just give Everton a lead; it shifted the entire momentum.

The second half belonged to Moyes’ side.

Barry delivers, Ndiaye and Hackney impress

Everton came out after the break with a different tempo. Passes were quicker, runs sharper, Palace suddenly the ones scrambling.

The pressure told when Hackney showed the kind of initiative Moyes will cling to. He spotted an opening, whipped a free-kick out quickly, and Iliman Ndiaye wrapped his foot around the ball with minimum fuss, curling in a teasing delivery. Barry attacked it, driving a firm downward header from five yards past Henderson.

A simple goal, but built on urgency – something sorely lacking in last season’s run-in.

Ndiaye looked the sharpest attacker on the pitch, buzzing between the lines and stretching Palace’s back line. Hackney, in front of the back four, played with a calmness that belied the occasion. On this evidence, both signings can help, but they do not fix everything.

Moyes still has problems: depth, goals, and a transfer strategy he clearly does not trust. This win softens the noise, it does not silence it.

Across the technical area, Pierre Sage has his own fires to fight.

Palace arrived with more recent silverware than Everton have managed in three decades, having lifted the FA Cup in 2025 and added the Conference League last season. They played with the swagger of a side used to big nights, but finished like one stuck in pre-season.

Missing Ismaila Sarr amid strong rumours he had refused to train to force a move to Galatasaray, Palace still created enough to leave Merseyside with a comfortable victory of their own. Mateta’s misses and Nketiah’s near-miss told the story. Better finishing, and this could easily have been a 2-0 away win instead.

Instead, it was Everton who walked off to cheers and a hint of optimism. For a club desperate to feel forward motion again, that alone felt significant.

Clarke stings Sunderland late as Ipswich announce their return

At Portman Road, the Premier League returned with chaos and catharsis.

Jack Clarke, once of Sunderland, waited until the 90th minute to write himself into Ipswich folklore. When Omar Alderete misplaced a pass in a dangerous area, Sasa Lukic pounced and fed Clarke. One touch inside, one curling finish into the bottom corner, and the stadium erupted.

Ipswich 2, Sunderland 1. A newly-promoted side with a statement win, sealed by a former Black Cat.

This was the first competitive game of the Gary O’Neil era, after he replaced long-serving Kieran McKenna in June. He threw himself into it with six full debutants and a team reshaped by 12 summer signings. The model was clear: copy Sunderland’s own impressive return to the top flight last season, when they finished seventh.

For long spells, though, it looked like both sides would have to settle for a draw.

Emersonn opened the scoring on 24 minutes, capping a brilliant passage from Julio Enciso. The ex-Brighton forward, back at Town after an eye-catching loan spell last year, intercepted Luke O’Nien’s pass, glided past O’Nien and Dan Ballard, then unselfishly squared for Emersonn to slide home. It was a goal that underlined why Ipswich fought to bring Enciso back.

Sunderland hit back six minutes before the break. Granit Xhaka won a free-kick on the edge of the box and Nilson Angulo produced a stunning strike, bending the ball over the wall and in off the crossbar. A punishing blow for Ipswich, who had looked the more dangerous.

The second half turned into a test of nerve. Abdul Fatawu twice threatened to restore Ipswich’s lead with dangerous deliveries, while Sunderland almost taught the newcomers an early lesson when Trai Hume’s early pass set up Brian Brobbey, only for Leif Davis to rescue the hosts with a vital block.

Kjell Scherpen had an anxious start in goal for Ipswich but settled, and as the game stretched both managers dipped into their benches hunting a winner.

Clarke found it. Sunderland’s Alderete gifted possession, Lukic kept his head, and Clarke did the rest. One swing of his left foot, and Ipswich celebrated only their second Premier League home win in 24 years. O’Neil’s reign could hardly have begun with a louder roar.

Stach stuns Forest as Leeds raid the City Ground

At the City Ground, Nottingham Forest dominated almost everything but the scoreline. Leeds walked away with the points.

Anton Stach’s 88th-minute free-kick snatched a 1-0 win for Daniel Farke’s side, their first league victory at Forest since 1972. It was daylight robbery, and Leeds knew it.

Forest, under new boss Oliver Glasner and talking up ambitions of a top-half finish, created enough chances to win twice over. They finished like last season’s side.

Nikola Milenkovic glanced a header against the post from a James McAtee delivery late in the first half, with Igor Jesus failing to turn in the rebound. Earlier, Jesus had forced James Trafford into a stretching save with a header from Ola Aina’s long throw, and he later nodded another Aina cross down and over from close range.

Chris Wood came off the bench and dragged a good opening wide after being slipped through by Murillo. Milenkovic saw another effort tipped onto the bar by Trafford. The pattern never changed: Forest on the front foot, Leeds clinging on.

Glasner named a starting XI without a single new signing, and the lack of cutting edge that haunted Forest last season returned with a vengeance.

Leeds offered little going forward, but when they did threaten, they did it from set plays. Matz Sels had to fling himself across goal to keep out a Tarik Muharemovic header, a warning of what was to come.

With two minutes of normal time left, Forest finally paid the price for their wastefulness. Stach stood over a free-kick on the corner of the penalty area and whipped a low effort inside Sels’ near post. The away end exploded; Forest’s players sank.

Leeds, who spent last season flirting dangerously with relegation, left with three points and a psychological edge before the sides meet again in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Forest left with the same question that has stalked them for months: how long can a team with such ambition keep wasting nights like this?