Jack Grealish produced two assists as Everton enjoyed a winning start to life at Hill Dickinson Stadium with a 2-0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Iliman Ndiaye netted the historic first goal at Everton’s new stadium with a 23rd-minute close-range tap-in from Grealish’s cross.
Grealish once again played provider for the Toffees’ second goal as he laid a 52nd-minute pass off for James Garner to smash in past Bart Verbruggen’s reach.
Post match, Grealish told Sky Sports that he and his teammates simply wanted to deliver “a show for the supporters” and was happy to start life at Everton Men’s new home with a win, with Goodison Park now the home of Everton Women.
“It was massive. First game at the new stadium and we wanted to put on a show for the supporters. Very happy to get the win.”
The result lifted Everton up to eighth in the Premier League, whilst Brighton slipped to 17th and is outside of the relegation zone on goal difference – before Manchester United play at Fulham in the late-afternoon kick-off.
Exactly 133 years to the very day since Everton began their Goodison Park era which they subsequently left in May 2025, the Toffees began life at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and almost snatched the first goal of their new era after just four minutes but Ndiaye’s shot was saved by Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton soon began to get on top with limited success until Kaoru Mitoma pounced on a 18th-minute long ball which he duly lobbed into the air to avoid a near handball, only to volley over on his right foot as the ball fell back down to his feet.
Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls missed another chance to break the deadlock barely a minute later as Yankuba Minteh teed up Danny Welbeck just yards out from goal, but the English forward flicked his shot over the bar.
Everton eventually found the first competitive goal of the Hill Dickinson Stadium era as Ndiaye began a 23rd-minute breakaway attack, which he fed to Grealish via Tim Iroegbunam and Idrissa Gueye’s passes before the Senegalese winger met Grealish’s cross to bundle in the opener.
Iroegbunam missed a chance to double Everton’s lead in the 34th minute after he picked up James Garner’s pass and side-stepped two Brighton defenders, yet struck his shot wide of the bottom left corner.
Everton were lucky to keep their lead at half time after James Tarkowski played a careless backpass to Jordan Pickford, which Matt O’Riley intercepted but Pickford squeezed him out wide and made a crucial save.
Hurzeler subsequently substituted Carlos Baleba for Jack Hinshelwood but Everton continued to look the more composed team, which showed in a 52nd-minute move started by Ndiaye which found Grealish via Iroegbunam but Grealish laid off for Garner to smash in low from 20 yards.
Thierno Barry almost tripled the hosts’ lead from a 57th-minute corner but he thumped his header just over the bar from close range.
Brighton however refused to accept a first away defeat in this fixture since October 2020 and won a 75th-minute penalty after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall handballed Yankuba Minteh’s shot.
Welbeck stepped up two minutes later with a strike towards the bottom right corner but Pickford crucially dived correctly to his left to make the save.
Brighton eventually fell to a first defeat away to Everton in nearly five years although it could of been by a wider margin if not for late misses from the hosts’ substitutes; Beto and Dwight McNeil.
What’s Next?
Everton turn their attention to the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 27 August as they host Mansfield in the first cup tie to be played at Hill Dickinson Stadium in a 7:45pm BST kick-off, before Moyes’ Toffees return their focus to the top flight with a trip to Wolves on 30 August (3pm).
Brighton too will divert their focus to the Carabao Cup as they visit Oxford United on 27 August (7:45pm) at Kassam Stadium, before Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls host Manchester City at 2pm on Sunday 31 August.
Teams
Everton: Jordan Pickford, Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam (McNeil 71′), Idrissa Gueye, Iliman Ndiaye (Alcaraz 64′), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jack Grealish (Armstrong 94′), Thierno Barry (Beto 64′)
Substitutes: Carlos Alcaraz, Harrison Armstrong, Adam Aznou, Seamus Coleman, Beto, Dwight McNeil, Tyler Onyango, Youssef Chermiti, Mark Travers
Brighton: Bart Verbruggen, Mats Wieffer (Gruda 85′), Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Maxim De Cuyper (Kadioglu 67′), Carlos Baleba (Hinshelwood 46′), Yasin Ayari (Gomez 67′), Yankuba Minteh, Matt O’Riley, Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck
Substitutes: Olivier Boscagli, Diego Coppola, Brajan Gruda, Diego Gomez, Jack Hinshelwood, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Jason Steele, Joel Veltman
Referee – Stuart Attwell
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