Everton and Grealish make perfect start at stunning new home

It was a day of new beginnings for Everton and for a player who ran the risk of becoming one of the Premier League’s great lost talents as blue smoke soared toward the River Mersey during pre-game pyrotechnics.

Everton finally abandoned Goodison Park after 133 years when they played their first Premier League game in their magnificent new, state-of-the-art stadium.

Fans gathered in their thousands of hours before kick-off, heading from the renowned Liver Birds’ Pier Head to Hill Dickinson Stadium for a historic day, announcing Everton’s plans for a prosperous new era in the wake of years of financial and footballing strife.

And Jack Grealish, the most prominent arrival at the club this summer, was the one that was on so many fans’ lips when he was released from life in the shadows at Manchester City to start again on loan at Everton.

Grealish, who turns 30 in September, has recently made just seven league starts under Pep Guardiola.

With the World Cup afoot in the summer of next year, England head coach Thomas Tuchel has the motivation to know that he has a vested admiration for him. The objective is clear.

Grealish immediately felt the love of more than 50, 000 Everton supporters as he quickly showed a desire to fight defenders, a trait that seemed lost in his later years at City.

Even though Everton’s performance may not have been flawless, they did so in a game where only victory mattered and they came away with a 2-0 victory over Brighton, with Grealish playing a significant part.

When the ball was at his feet, he experienced the buzz of the crowd for the first time in a long time, and it took only 23 minutes for Grealish to make his pitch available on Merseyside from Etihad Stadium in the exact match that Everton manager David Moyes wanted.

Before drilling a cross to the far post, where the incoming Iliman Ndiaye made a challenging finish appear simple, Grealish drove deep into the Brighton penalty area leaving Mats Wieffer in his wake.

Grealish’s second assist, a short pass to James Garner, was a more conventional move that Bart Verbruggen could not have done without.

Grealish had as many assists in 52 minutes as he had in his previous two Premier League games for Manchester City.

He had three assists in a game for the Premier League, including two against Leeds United in December 2022 and three against Liverpool in October 2020.

In the closing moments, Grealish put a chance on Dwight McNeil’s plate with a miscued shot in front of a gaping goal, but the substitute made a complete hash of it.

Grealish’s play impressed more than just its antagonistic elements. When necessary, he was more than willing to do the dirty work.

Everton (7) had the most possessions of all time, and Grealish, along with Ndiaye, had three tackles in top three.

Four minutes into stoppage time, Everton manager Moyes took the opportunity to let Grealish enjoy a standing ovation as he was replaced by Harrison Armstrong, who had been playing for the team.

Grealish, who wore a smile throughout the game that appeared to require having it removed, said: “Brilliant, brilliant day.

Before the game, we stated that we wanted to put on a show for the fans. It was a big day entering the new stadium for the club itself. The day turned out perfect.

“I believe we gave that one to every fan,” he said. In this stadium, it is a pleasure to play for this team.

Grealish applauded his assistance, saying, “It’s just as significant for me. I learned a lot from Kevin de Bruyne when I played with him, but scoring goals in football is so important.

In my opinion, assistance is superior to scoring. It’s a special feeling to assist your team-mates. I only want to contribute to this club in my free time so that we can continue to improve and give more goals and assists.

Everton lost to Leeds in their opening game, so getting off the mark helped both the relief and the cheer.

That’s what we had been hoping for and waiting for, Moyes declared to BBC Sport. We are attempting to add that extra quality, and we are doing just that. Both Jack and Kerry Dewsbury-Hall did a fantastic job. We’re thrilled that we have added a little more quality and that we need to get some more goals.

After the game at Leeds United, we played more like Everton. The Everton things required that we do.

After a depressing performance at Elland Road, Everton fans gathered around the stadium to celebrate this historic victory, which was the ideal start.

Moyes believed that he would travel to Everton for a second spell to help them settle in their new home, and that “it might” have been “written in the stars.”

In 100 years, someone will be standing here interviewing a manager. We’ll be long gone, but today we started it, and I’m hoping that people will talk a lot about the future’s history.