Everton paid the price for a string of missed chances as their goalscoring issues were exploited by Fulham in a 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
A new season brought new hope for recent relegation strugglers Everton but for all the improvements Sean Dyche has made over the summer, it appears he he has not yet solved their problems in front of goal.
Substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid struck the only goal of the game to get Marco Silva’s side off to a winning start.
Everton, the Premier League’s lowest scorers last season, were again without striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Despite generating twice as many shots as the visitors, Dyche’s side were undone by one square pass across their six-yard area when Andreas Pereira beat Nathan Patterson to an Aleksandar Mitrovic’s through-ball for a 73rd-minute tap-in by Decordova-Reid.
It burst the bubble of optimism which had been generated by an energetic and relatively creative opening 73 minutes of the season and will have infuriated Dyche as much as it delighted former Toffees boss Silva.
Michael Keane’s first-half goal was disallowed as the centre-back turned the ball into an empty net and celebrated almost apologetically before referee Stuart Atwell, having initially not blown, ruled there had been an infringement in the collision between goalkeeper Bernd Leno and James Tarkowski.
Both teams started without their recognised first-choice strikers: Calvert-Lewin was omitted due to his lack of minutes in pre-season while Mitrovic was left on the bench after ongoing interest from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal.
But it was the home team who suffered the most as they generated 19 shots to their opponents’ nine from just 41 per cent possession but failed to capitalise with Calvert-Lewin’s deputy Neal Maupay most culpable.
The £15million signing from Brighton last summer has a return of one goal in his 29 previous appearances but the reason for that conversion rate was evident after just 32 seconds when he clipped a shot wide of the far post with only goalkeeper Leno to beat after being put through by James Garner’s cushioned header.
It did not get any better for the Frenchman, whose heavy touch from Abdoulaye Doucoure’s square pass denied him another shooting opportunity before Leno blocked his close-range scuff from a Doucoure knockdown and then he fired straight at the German when played in by Amadou Onana.
Doucoure, playing just behind the striker, was not without fault either as he should have scored inside five minutes when clean through but shot straight at the goalkeeper when he could also have squared to Maupay.
Everton were fortunate the visitors were even more toothless in attack themselves, although Willian, 35, gave 21-year-old right-back Nathan Patterson, who made just 21 appearances in a debut season affected by injury, an uncomfortable 45 minutes before he was replaced by De Cordova-Reid at half-time.
But Willian was also lucky to escape with a booking for an over the top challenge on Garner.
By contrast, on the other side of the defence Ashley Young, Everton’s second-oldest debutant at the age of 38 years and 34 days, was coping easily with Harry Wilson – 12 years his junior.
The 57th-minute of introduction of Mitrovic and Pereira, seconds after debutant Raul Jimenez had struck the post with his last touch before being replaced, threatened a new element of danger for Everton.
However, it was the hosts who should have scored when Leno parried Alex Iwobi’s shot to Patterson who lashed his shot against the crossbar.
Loan signing Arnaut Danjuma assumed the central striking role from Maupay but, before he had even touched the ball, De Cordova-Reid had scored the goal which secured Fulham’s third successive win at Goodison Park.
The return of Calvert-Lewin and a debut for new signing Youssef Chermiti, the £15million Sporting Lisbon striker watching from the directors’ box, cannot come soon enough.
Hydel book ISSA Champions Cup semifinal spot after dramatic comeback against Garvey Maceo
Hydel High School booked a spot in the ISSA Champions Cup semifinals after they came from behind to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over Garvey Maceo in their quarterfinal clash at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday.
Goals from Dontae Brooks (20th), D’Sean Henry (58th), and Keyanni Jackson (75th) proved decisive for Hydel, who overcame early and persistent pressure from a spirited Garvey Maceo side, led by standout performances from Omarian O’Brian (12th) and Delano Thompson (60th).
The win ensured Hydel remained on course to lift the prestigious all-island knockout title as they joined Jamaica College and Ocho Rios High at the business end.
Winning coach Devon Anderson praised his team’s grit and character to bounce back after falling behind early.
“It was a workmanlike performance, we dug deep to pull off this victory. It was a hard-fought game from both teams so we went out there and did what we had to, as you can see the conditions wasn’t conducive but we don’t complain, we are always ready to deliver. We tweaked one or two things to seal a bit of loophole and the boys pulled it off,” Anderson said in a post-game interview.
After a fairly cagey start by both teams, the contest exploded into life in the 12th minute when O’Brian made a surging run down the left channel and rifled a right-footed shot in from close range to put Garvey Maceo in front.
Hydel, undeterred, pushed for the equaliser which they found just eight minutes later. A perfectly weighted cross from Henry found Brooks in a pocket of space, and the forward made no mistake from close range, calmly slotting home to restore parity at 1-1.
Ronaldo Barrett tried to give Hydel the lead in the 24th minute with a speculative left-footed shot from distance, but Garvey Maceo goalkeeper Garfield Tomlinson handled it comfortably.
From there, both teams exchanged a few half-chances for the remainder of the first half, but neither side could convert, leaving the score locked at 1-1 heading into the break.
A sudden downpour, which came just before the break, made the pitch slippery and slowed play at the start of the second half, but the intensity on the field remained undiminished.
In the 58th minute, Hydel seized the initiative when Jackson whipped in a pinpoint cross for Henry to head past Tomlinson and put Hydel 2-1 up.
However, their joy was short-lived, as Garvey Maceo responded immediately after. This, as O’Brian delivered a defence-splitting pass to Thompson, who made an overlapping run and smashed the ball home to level the score once again at 2-2.
The defining moment came in the 75th minute when Hydel launched another telling buildup in which Barrett played a clever pass back to Jackson at the edge of the six-yard box and the latter, with time and space, unleashed a clinical strike that gave Tomlinson no chance.
Despite Garvey Maceo’s efforts to find another equaliser, Hydel’s defence held firm to seal their place in the semifinals.
Garvey Maceo’s Head coach Lester Hibbert lauded his team’s valiant effort but rued lapses in concentration that cost them the game.
“It was a good performance but we made some errors in the backline and that cost us the game. We just had to get used to the conditions and play some football but at the end of the day, if you make mistakes and don’t score your chances it is going to hurt you and Hydel did put away their chances,” Hibbert said.
Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw
Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.
The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target - one fell to Milan and two to Juve - while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.
Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).
"When you don't win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I'd do the same," Fonseca told DAZN.
"I'm not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly."
Milan's only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.
They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.
"It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us," Fonseca said.
"We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.
"We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.
"The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn't take any offensive risks."
When asked if seventh-placed Milan - on 19 points with a game in hand - still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.
"It's difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points," he said.
Dortmund got 'fully deserved victory' over Freiburg, says Sahin
Nuri Sahin praised Borussia Dortmund for getting "a fully deserved victory" over nine-man Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dortmund remained perfect on home soil this season as they cruised to a 4-0 win at Signal Iduna Park after Patrick Osterhage and Junior Adamu were both sent off for the visitors.
Maximilian Bieier and Felix Nmecha scored in the first half before Julian Brandt and Jamie Gittens secured the points in the second during a dominant display as they limited Freiburg to just three shots on target at the other end.
Dortmund have now won 11 home games in a row in all competitions. Since the Bundesliga was founded, they have won more consecutive home matches in a row only once, winning 14 in a row at home in 1994.
Sahin has come under pressure recently for the Black and Yellow's less impressive away form, but he was delighted with the showing he saw from his side.
"We started very well. We controlled the spaces. We allowed very little," Sahin said.
"Overall, it was a mature performance from my boys. We scored great goals, showed good energy.
"We kept them away from our goal throughout. It was a fully deserved victory and I, as a coach, am very satisfied."
Dortmund were, however, without Serhou Guirassy, who is their top scorer in the Bundesliga with six goals, as he pulled out of the game due to a virus.
Next up for Sahin's side is a trip to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, and the head coach is hopeful he will be available for that tie.
"[Saturday] morning again, we got the bad news. Serhou tried everything to play today, but it did not work," Sahin added.
"I hope it will be enough for Zagreb. He is a very important player for us."
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