Everton awaken: Grealish’s stoppage-time ricochet seals a stirring comeback at Hill Dickinson

Everton found a way. Trailing to Crystal Palace after a listless first half, David Moyes’ side summoned energy, nerve and a dash of fortune to win 2-1, with Jack Grealish bundling in a 93rd-minute decider. Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty on 76 minutes cancelled Daniel Muñoz’s opener and set the stage for a finale that shook the new ground.

It was an afternoon that began with frustration—boos at the interval—and ended with catharsis. On his 300th Premier League appearance, Jordan Pickford kept Everton alive long enough for the cavalry to arrive. Then the substitutes swung the momentum, the crowd grew into the game, and Everton claimed a first league victory since August.

From flat and fraught to ferocious

The opening hour belonged to Palace. Tyrick Mitchell thumped a post and Pickford was repeatedly called upon, including to deny Marc Guéhi and Jean-Philippe Mateta. When Ismaïla Sarr fed Muñoz to slide in the 37th-minute opener, Everton looked short of ideas and conviction.

Moyes’ response at half-time was emphatic. Tyler Dibling and Thierno Barry made way for Beto and Carlos Alcaraz, and the transformation in tempo was immediate. Everton pressed higher, moved the ball sharper and began pinning Palace back. It was the third time in four games the manager has switched his frontline at the break, and here the gamble paid off.

Subs swing it, then the door opens

Alcaraz knitted attacks together and Beto provided a focal point that Palace had not been forced to confront in the first half. Even so, Mateta twice had the chance to kill the contest—one effort was cleared from danger and another sliced wide after a deflection—but those misses kept Everton within reach.

The equaliser sprang from front-foot intent and Palace’s misread. Vitalii Mykolenko threaded a pass towards Beto, Maxence Lacroix mistimed his reaction and collided with Tim Iroegbunam on the blind side, and the referee pointed to the spot. Ndiaye stepped up and rolled his penalty beyond Dean Henderson with cool assurance. Suddenly the place crackled.

Grealish answers his manager

Before kick-off Moyes had challenged Grealish to add goals to the four Premier League assists he has already delivered since arriving. The winger’s moment came late and in chaotic fashion. In stoppage time Alcaraz released Ndiaye, whose clipped cross was met by Beto; Henderson’s brilliant point-blank save kept it out—until Muñoz’s clearance cannoned off Grealish and into the roof of the net.

It was hardly the cleanest strike of his career, but it was everything Everton needed: a first Everton goal for Grealish, bedlam in the stands, and validation for a second-half surge fuelled by the bench. On loan from Manchester City and set to sit out against his parent club after the break, he still left a signature on this match.

Reasons to believe

Pickford’s milestone day mattered. His first-half interventions gave Everton a foundation, and the team’s response after the interval showed resilience that Moyes praised—while also admitting Palace could have been out of sight before the turnaround. The manager’s in-game tweaks and the energy of his substitutes underpinned the shift.

Everton remain unbeaten at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and this felt like the kind of comeback that bonds a new home to its team. The first-hour imperfections were real; the response was emphatic. With a first league win since August secured, the Toffees can point to intensity, depth and a growing connection as reasons to push on.