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• First win of the season a 'relief' for Everton boss Dyche

  Sean Dyche expressed his relief after Everton earned their first three points of the season through a Dwight McNeil brace at Goodison Park.

  The hosts conceded early as Marc Guehi put Crystal Palace a goal to the good after 10 minutes, as Everton were again undone following a set-piece.

  But a fine second-half display from McNeil saw two excellent finishes carry Everton over the line.

  It was the first time this season Dyche's side had managed to maintain a lead, with the Toffees having dropped points from winning positions in their last three Premier League matches.

  Following news of a possible takeover for the Merseyside club this week by The Friedkin Group, who also own Roma, Dyche was relieved to secure his first victory of the season, and just a sixth league win of 2024.

  "I'm delighted for the players, they worked very hard to change a scoreline around," the Everton manager told BBC Sport.

  "You know there’s been question marks over many things, and of course, there's been a bit of relief there for me today and relief for the players, and that’s a human thing.

  "There's a lot of demand here that we put on ourselves, and we have to answer to that and I thought we did today. We certainly did enough to win the game and that’s what was important."

  Everton are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, though Jarrad Branthwaite's return from injury was a major bright spot.

  And the Everton defence did look stronger despite a shaky first-half display. The visitors accrued an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.85 from 17 shots.

  "It was a bit of nervousness. When you haven’t got that first win you feel nervous. Then you go 1-0 down, the stadium becomes awkward for the players," Dyche explained.

  "I spoke to them in the second half about being someone who makes a difference. It’s every person that counts, not just one."

  Everton proved far more clinical thanks to McNeil's long-range effort on 47 minutes. They finished on 0.91 xG from just eight shots.

  "I thought the feel of the second half was better, not just the quality. Dwight popping up with two goals for two different reasons and some good energy in our play and the big moments went for us today," said Dyche.

  Crystal Palace also had the better share of possession with 59.4%, a source of disappointment for boss Oliver Glasner.

  "Over 70-75 minutes we controlled the game, but you must be focused all game. It is a big strength of Everton's in set-plays. They do it well and we defended it most of the time really well," he told BBC Sport.

  "We tried everything, we changed the system, brought on all our offensive players. They defended with 10 players around their box so we didn't have a lot of space so it was difficult.

  "Today we couldn't score the equaliser. If you concede two goals it's not so easy to get a point or to win."

  It leaves the visitors without a win in their last six games in the Premier League. 

  "We know it when we look at the table. Maybe it is a welcome back to reality. Maybe we were flying too high after a great finish to the season. The Premier League is a fight," Glasner added.

• St Johnstone 0-6 Celtic: Defending champions continue perfect start

  Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a thumping 6-0 win away at St Johnstone.

  The defending champions thought they had taken the lead early on through Daizen Maeda, but VAR intervened due to a foul in the build-up.

  Nevertheless, a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo's sumptuous strike virtually ended the contest at half-time.

  There was to be no mercy in the second half though, as captain Callum McGregor added a fourth for Celtic shortly after the restart.

  Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added further gloss to the scoreline to make it six league wins out of six for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this campaign and take them top, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.

  St Johnstone are now just a point above second bottom in the table.

  Data Debrief: Defence first

  Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the league.

  Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of seven games from 26 April 2015 to 9 August 2015, so as well as their rampant attack, Rodgers' team have a mean defence, with St Johnston accumulating only 0.29 expected goals (xG) on Saturday.

  With two assists in this match, meanwhile, Nicolas Kuhn now has four in total for the season, which is two more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.

   

• Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Andrich and Pavlovic stunners ensure spoils are shared

  Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out an enthralling 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.

  Two long-range strikes, one from Robert Andrich and another from Aleksandar Pavlovic, ensured a share of the spoils on Saturday.

  Defending champions Leverkusen scored with their first chance in the 31st minute when Granit Xhaka controlled a corner with his chest and set up Andrich outside the box, with the Germany international's sweeping low shot drilled through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.

  Their lead did not last long, however, as a poor clearance fell to Pavlovic and the midfielder pulled the trigger from 25 yards with a half-volley that brushed the fingertips of goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky as it sailed into the top corner.

  With Serge Gnabry having hit the post and then crossbar in quick succession, Bayern dominated proceedings in the second half, with Leverkusen pegged back. The hosts boasted an expected goals (xG) total of 1.32 at full-time compared to their opponent's meagre 0.07xG.

  But despite their 18 shots, Bayern could not clinch a decisive second goal.

  Bayern stay top with 13 points, while Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are third with 10 points, a point behind RB Leipzig, who thrashed Augsburg 4-0.

  Data Debrief: Wonderstrikes and fine margins

  Bayern hit the woodwork twice through Gnabry in a matter of seconds, but ultimately only managed to get three attempts on target, while Pavlovic's stunning equaliser came with an xG value of just 0.02.

  That being said, Leverkusen - who hammered Bayern 3-0 in their last meeting - hardly offered much going the other way, having just three attempts in total.

  This top-of-the-table clash also marked the first time in three years that Harry Kane has not attempted a single shot after starting a league match. The last time was when he represented Tottenham against Crystal Palace in September 2021.

  Their one goal, however, does mean Bayern have scored in their last 12 games in the Bundesliga, scoring 33 goals in that run.