Everton holds Crystal Palace to a draw with strong defense and Pickford’s saves

Everton’s new era started with a familiar formula: defend well, let Jordan Pickford do the rest, and take whatever result falls out the other end. The Toffees held Crystal Palace to a draw on the opening day of the 2026/27 Premier League season, a match defined more by what didn’t go in than what did. The fixture, played on August 22, marked the first competitive Premier League match at Everton’s gleaming Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. Pickford’s wall and Palace’s frustration Crystal Palace controlled large stretches of the match but ran into the same problem teams have faced against Everton for years: getting past Pickford. The England international made several crucial stops to keep the scoreline level, none more important than his denial of Eddie Nketiah after Adam Wharton threaded a well-timed through-ball into the striker’s path. Nketiah’s effort struck the post, the kind of near-miss that haunts forwards on the drive home. Jean-Philippe Mateta also found himself on the wrong end of Pickford’s reflexes. In front of Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski formed a center-back partnership that gave Palace’s attacking players little room to operate in the penalty a...