Jack Grealish shines as Everton christen new stadium with victory over Brighton

Jack Grealish put in a man-of-the-match display as Everton claimed a 2-0 win against Brighton in the first Premier League game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The on-loan Manchester City winger, like the Toffees’ new home on the banks of the River Mersey, offers hope of a brighter future and the England international started to emerge from his personal doldrums with assists for both goals.

He managed just two in the last two Premier League seasons at City but matched that in only 71 minutes of football after his change of scenery.

Iliman Ndiaye continues to write his name into Everton history. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/SOZ4ARtSOY

— Everton (@Everton) August 24, 2025

The first was for Iliman Ndiaye, who wrote his name into the history books for a second time in three months as the scorer of the final goal at Goodison Park and the first at their new home.

Even Grealish will admit his second owed more to the pureness of James Garner’s 25-yard strike than his gentle roll-back for the makeshift left-back but he fully deserved his standing ovation in second-half added time.

It was a day of firsts: the first time since Easter Monday 1892 that Everton had played a home game not at Goodison and first starts for Grealish and France Under-21 striker Thierno Barry – and Everton’s first win of the season after Monday’s disappointing defeat at Leeds.

Grealish, wearing Wayne Rooney’s former number 18 shirt, came out for the pre-match handshakes with 11-month-old daughter Mila in his arms but that was not the only thing he was carrying as manager David Moyes admitted he had put him in the side earlier than he wanted to in an attempt to inject more goals.

That paid off even better than the Scot could have hoped for, but it was not just the