Jack Grealish revealed he had never played alongside Iliman Ndiaye in training prior to their 2-0 win over Brighton, where the duo inspired the Toffees to a victory in their first game at their new stadium.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium opened in style as Manchester City loan signing Grealish set up Ndiaye for the first goal before teeing up James Garner for a second as they ran out 2-0 winners.
Everton fans will have been excited to see the duo combining ahead what they hope will be a successful season at their new home on the Bramley Moor Dock.
Speaking to Sky Sports about the win, Grealish said: “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.
“It’s massive. I loved my time at Man City and I had a great four years there and won a lot of things. As soon as I spoke to David Moyes on FaceTime, I wanted to come here and today shows why.
“I said yesterday that the manager hadn’t played us [Iliman Ndiaye] together in training. Today is the first time.”
Moyes hopeful Grealish and Ndiaye can inspire goal-shy Everton
Manager David Moyes said of the duo: “We’ll see how they play and if their performances are good. Jack has got a couple of assists today and Iliman has a goal.
“We need to score more goals. One thing I don’t want to lose is the spirit on the pitch. We want more flair and quality.”
Pickford revels at perfect start in new stadium
A victory and clean sheet represents a perfect start at their new ground, particularly after Jordan Pickford was on hand to save a Danny Welbeck late in the game.
The England goalkeeper said: “It’s amazing, the fans are always behind us whether we go home or away, we’ve got great support and we can’t thank them enough.
“It’s about letting them go home happy which we have done today. It’s a start and we want to keep building momentum at this place and be resilient so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
Hurzeler: Brighton were better team
Things could have panned out much differently had Brighton taken a number of chances, with Koaru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck going close before the opener before the striker missed from the spot.
The Seagulls boss said: “I think overall we were the better team, we created the better chances but in the end football is about scoring and keeping clean sheets.
“We didn’t take care of the small actions and the small elements of the game and this is how you lose.
“We had a similar situation in the last game where we had chances and we have to be more ruthless. Every player wants to score and a goal always helps.
“In some moments we didn’t defend well when we conceded the goals. We didn’t take care of the throw-ins in some moments of the game.
“We can improve and we have to focus. We have enough chances here to win the game.”
