Thierno Barry scores as Everton start season with win over Crystal Palace

By Carl Markham, Press Association

Thierno Barry scored in Everton’s comfortable 2-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace to give manager David Moyes one less thing to worry about – for now.

The Frenchman took until December last season to score his maiden goal for the club but with no reinforcements for a strikeforce – together with Beto – which netted only 18 goals in 2025-26, an early breakthrough for the 23-year-old was a welcome boost for Moyes, who is less than happy with the club’s transfer business.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had made the breakthrough late in the first half as Everton celebrated season ticket-holder Andy Burnham’s first visit as Prime Minister with a morale-boosting victory after last term’s final seven games without a win cost them a chance of a return to European football.

There was little freshness in terms of Moyes’ starting line-up, aside from new signing Hayden Hackney in the holding midfield role, with midfielder Merlin Rohl filling the troublesome right-back slot.

And there was a familiar feeling to the opening 38 minutes as Jean-Philippe Mateta stabbed wide the kind of close-range chance he would usually bury and also hit a post – the same upright Eddie Nketiah saw Jordan Pickford acrobatically tip his shot onto.

But the momentum changed when Dewsbury-Hall lashed home left-footed across Dean Henderson and the second half was a completely different story.

Barry’s downward header from five yards came from greater urgency on the ball, which saw Hackney’s quickly-taken free-kick whipped in with very little fuss by Iliman Ndiaye.

Ndiaye looked the sharpest and Hackney appeared composed enough on his Premier League debut but there are still a number of issues for the Everton boss to address.

So too his Palace counterpart Pierre Sage, who was without Ismaila Sarr amid rumours he had refused to train in order to push through a move to Galatasaray.

Palace have won more trophies in the last two seasons – having added the Conference League to the FA Cup in 2025 – than Everton have in the last 31 years, and with better finishing it could have been them easily winning 2-0.

Mateta, match-winner against Rayo Vallecano as the Eagles won their first European trophy, somehow failed to even hit the target from inside the six-yard area from Nketiah’s third-minute cross.

Adam Wharton’s delightful chip over the head of Rohl saw Nketiah denied by Pickford and the upright, while another pass from the England midfielder sliced open Everton but Mateta struck the post with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Moments before Everton’s hopes of a penalty, when Jaydee Canvot connected with Jarrad Branthwaite as he attempted to clear, were dashed after an overlong VAR decision ruled the centre-back was offside.

But when Daniel Munoz, who has been linked with filling Everton’s vacant right-back slot, gave the ball away to Harrison Armstrong, he slipped it inside for Dewsbury-Hall to produce a quality finish.

Munoz should have atoned for his error but steered a close-range header wide and when Barry opened his account for the season in the 53rd minute there looked like being only one winner.