Thierno Barry shines as Everton defeat Crystal Palace 2-0
Thierno Barry eases the strain as Everton punish wasteful Palace
Ipswich stun Sunderland at the death, Stach snatches it for Leeds
Thierno Barry needed until December to get off the mark last season. This time, he waited just one game – and his early breakthrough eased at least one of David Moyes’ many worries.
Everton’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park looked routine on the scoreboard. It was anything but in the opening stages. Palace carved out the better chances, hit the woodwork twice and, with sharper finishing, would have left Merseyside with the points and another reminder of how far Everton still have to go.
Instead, Moyes walked away with a clean sheet, two goals, and a timely lift on a day of political theatre in the stands. Season ticket-holder Andy Burnham watched his first Everton game as Prime Minister, and the home side finally delivered the kind of performance that had deserted them in the final seven winless games of last season, a collapse that cost them a shot at Europe.
Dewsbury-Hall flips the script
Moyes’ starting XI offered little in the way of revolution. Hayden Hackney came in to anchor midfield on his Premier League debut, while Merlin Röhl was again asked to plug the problem right-back role. The rest felt familiar. So did the early pattern.
Palace struck first in terms of threat. Jean-Philippe Mateta stabbed wide from close range when he normally scores with his eyes closed. Moments later he smacked the post, the same upright that denied Eddie Nketiah when Jordan Pickford clawed a rising shot onto the woodwork with a spectacular save. Everton creaked. Palace sensed vulnerability.
Then the game turned in an instant.
With 38 minutes gone, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall seized a loose ball and drove a left-footed strike across Dean Henderson and into the far corner. One clean hit, one roar around Goodison, and the tension broke. From that moment, Everton played like a side unburdened.
The second half belonged to them.
Barry delivers, Ndiaye and Hackney impress
The pressure finally told again when Barry, the man under the microscope after last season’s slow start and a misfiring forward line that scored just 18 league goals in 2025-26, found the net from five yards. His downward header came after a sharp, quickly-taken Hackney free-kick and a wicked delivery from Iliman Ndiaye, who had been the sharpest attacker on the pitch all afternoon.
It was a simple finish, but symbolically huge. With no new striker signed to compete with Barry and Beto, Moyes needed a sign that his current options could carry the load. The Frenchman provided it with a goal that spoke of timing and confidence rather than anxiety.
Hackney looked composed in the holding role, rarely flustered in possession. Ndiaye buzzed between the lines, always available, always aggressive. Yet even with the victory, the gaps in Everton’s squad were hard to ignore – and Moyes’ frustration with the club’s transfer business will not vanish because of one decent August afternoon.
Across the technical area, Pierre Sage had his own problems. Palace were without Ismaila Sarr amid rumours the winger had refused to train to force through a move to Galatasaray. On the pitch, the performance was good enough to take something, maybe even win 2-0 themselves. But football is brutal when you waste chances. Palace, trophy winners in both the FA Cup and Conference League over the last two seasons – more silverware than Everton have managed in 31 years – left empty-handed.
Goodison, for once, did not care. It had its storylines, its Prime Minister, its new faces, and, crucially, three points.
Clarke breaks Sunderland hearts as Ipswich erupt
At Portman Road, a different kind of noise. Newly-promoted Ipswich looked set to settle for a draw on their Premier League return until Jack Clarke, of all people, wrote a ruthless late twist against his old club Sunderland.
Ninety minutes on the clock, Omar Alderete misplaced a pass, and the place held its breath. Sasa Lukic pounced, fed Clarke, and the winger did the rest – cutting inside and curling low into the bottom corner to seal a 2-1 win and send the stadium into pandemonium. Only Ipswich’s second Premier League home win in 24 years, delivered with the last meaningful kick.
This was the first competitive game of the Gary O’Neil era after he replaced Kieran McKenna in June, and it came with a new look: six full debutants and 12 summer signings in all, an ambitious overhaul aimed at mirroring Sunderland’s own impressive return to the top flight last season, when they finished seventh in 2025-26.
The afternoon started with nerves. Sunderland almost struck inside four minutes when Trai Hume was given too much time and slipped in Brian Brobbey, only for Leif Davis to make a vital recovery block. Debutant goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen then had a shaky moment on the ball before Ipswich settled.
Once they did, Emersonn took centre stage. After an early header troubled Robin Roefs, he marked his first start with a goal in the 24th minute. The real magic, though, came from Julio Enciso. The former Brighton forward, back after a sparkling six-month loan last season, intercepted Luke O’Nien’s pass, slalomed past O’Nien and Dan Ballard, and squared for Emersonn to slide home. A goal born of swagger and speed.
Sunderland struck back with a moment of their own just before the break. Granit Xhaka won a free-kick on the edge of the area in the 39th minute, and Nilson Angulo stepped up to whip a superb effort over the wall and in via the crossbar. One all at half-time, and the balance restored.
Ipswich came out after the interval with renewed purpose. Abdul Fatawu twice threatened to carve out a second goal, stretching Sunderland’s back line and lifting the crowd. Both managers turned to their benches in search of a winner.
The game seemed destined to drift into a draw. Then Alderete’s loose pass, Lukic’s quick thinking, and Clarke’s cold-blooded finish rewrote the script. Sunderland, who once showed the path for newly-promoted sides, left with a harsh reminder of how unforgiving the top flight can be.
Stach stuns Forest as Leeds raid the City Ground
At the City Ground, Nottingham Forest did almost everything but score. Leeds did almost nothing in attack – until Anton Stach stepped up in the 88th minute and stole the points.
Stach, standing on the corner of the penalty area, whipped a low free-kick inside Matz Sels’ near post to seal a 1-0 away win and Leeds’ first league victory at Forest since 1972. One clean strike, one smash-and-grab.
For long stretches, it was Forest’s game to win. New boss Oliver Glasner wants a top-half finish this season, but this felt painfully familiar. No new signings in the starting XI. Plenty of territory. Plenty of chances. No finish.
After a dull opening, the hosts woke up on 16 minutes when Igor Jesus met Ola Aina’s long throw with a firm header, only for James Trafford to stretch and save. The home crowd howled for a red card soon after when Aina flew into a tackle on James Justin, but VAR kept the defender on the pitch. The officials intervened again to chalk off a Harry Wilson effort for offside in the 25th minute, correctly ruling out what would have been Leeds’ opener.
Forest responded by ramping up the pressure. James McAtee’s delivery in the 40th minute found Nikola Milenkovic, whose glancing header clipped the post. Igor Jesus reacted first but failed to convert the rebound. The pattern continued after the break: Aina swung in another dangerous cross, Jesus met it but headed down and over from close range.
Glasner turned to Chris Wood, and the substitute soon had a golden chance when Murillo’s through ball sent him clear. Wood dragged his shot wide, another big opportunity gone. Trafford then had to tip a looping Milenkovic effort onto the crossbar as Forest kept pumping balls into the box.
Leeds, who flirted with relegation last season but have ambitions of climbing the table, offered little going forward until late on. Even then, their threat came from set-pieces and crosses. Sels produced a flying save to keep out a Tarik Muharemovic header, a warning Forest did not heed.
With two minutes left, they paid the price. Stach lined up the free-kick, aimed low and hard, and squeezed it inside the near post. The away end exploded. Forest, once again, stared at the same old problem: plenty of play, no cutting edge.
Leeds left with three points and a psychological edge ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup rematch. Forest left with questions that feel all too familiar. How long can they talk about potential and ambition before the league table demands something more ruthless?
