Iliman Ndiaye scored a first-half double as Everton marked their final match at Goodison Park with a 2-0 win over Southampton.
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For the hosts, Sunday’s contest was all about saying goodbye to their grand old stadium, which has been their home since 1892.
Ndiaye was the player to cement himself in Everton history, opening the scoring with a sublime finish in the sixth minute before doubling up in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
Everton, who also saw Beto have two goals disallowed, pushed for a final moment of magic at the Gwladys Street End, but Ndiaye will go down as their last goalscorer at the stadium.
The Toffees further consolidated their place in 13th as they moved on to 45 points, while bottom club Southampton remain on 12.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 |
Everton
EVE
|
37 | -3 | 45 |
| 14 |
Wolves
WOL
|
36 | -13 | 41 |
| 15 |
West Ham
WHU
|
37 | -18 | 40 |
| 16 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
37 | -12 | 39 |
| 17 |
Spurs
TOT
|
37 | +2 | 38 |
| 18 |
Leicester
LEI
|
37 | -45 | 25 |
| 19 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
37 | -44 | 22 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
37 | -59 | 12 |
How the match unfolded
Aaron Ramsdale pulled off a fine save to deny Beto from point-blank range but he could do nothing to prevent Ndiaye slotting into the bottom-left corner at the end of a mazy run to send the Goodison faithful into pandemonium.
Ndiaye turned provider when he slipped in Beto in the 20th minute, but the striker failed to direct a first-time finish on target.
Beto had the ball in the net twice in the space of four minutes, but on both occasions he had strayed offside.
Yet Everton had their second goal on the stroke of half-time – Ndiaye beat Ramsdale to Dwight McNeil’s pass and tapped into an empty net to double his tally.
James Garner forced Ramsdale into action before Beto headed over as Everton sought to put the result beyond doubt, though Jordan Pickford had to be alert at the other end to deny Ross Stewart.
Pickford then pulled off an outstanding stop to prevent Cameron Archer setting up a nervy finish, with Will Smallbone thwarted by the upright as Everton preserved their clean sheet.
Goodbye Goodison
Everton’s men’s first team will have a new home from next season, though Goodison Park will be getting a new chapter in its illustrious history, as Everton Women will play their home matches at the famous ground next season.
While Goodison will live on, it is the start of a new era for Everton – they will hope the increased revenue that the freshly named Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley Moore will bring in can help propel them back to the upper echelons of the Premier League.
But David Moyes knew the importance of ending this era with a victory, especially after his team threw away a 2-0 lead against Ipswich Town last time out at home.
Spurred on by the pre-match celebrations, Everton started with plenty of intent and Ndiaye’s excellent run and left-footed finish was their reward.
Club captain Seamus Coleman led the Toffees out, but lasted only 18 minutes on his first league start since Boxing Day, due to an apparent ankle issue – he still got the standing ovation his career at Goodison has merited.
It could very easily have been a rout before the break, had Beto just held his line – first to meet Garner’s pass, before he was picked out by Coleman’s replacement Ashley Young, making his final home appearance for the Toffees.
It was a match sometimes played at a testimonial pace, though when Everton did inject some pace into proceedings, they found chances relatively easy to come by, with Ndiaye providing the touch of class.
There will be a rebuild to come for Everton in the off-season – they have already confirmed the departures of Young, Joao Virginia and Asmir Begovic, while Abdoulaye Doucoure appeared to be waving goodbye to not just Goodison Park, but also the fans when he made way in the second half.
Coleman, Michael Keane, who replaced the injured Jarrad Branthwaite midway through the second half, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have also made their final home appearances for the club ahead of next week’s trip to Newcastle United.
Southampton could not spoil the party
Last week’s draw with Manchester City saw Southampton surpass the record-low points tally set by Derby County, so the visitors went into this match with their only real aim being to spoil the party.
However, they showed little sign of doing that during a meek first-half display. They did not manage a single shot and became the third team to fail to have an attempt on goal in the first half of a Premier League match this season.
They kept things neat and tidy on the ball, but offered little threat until substitute Stewart capitalised on some slack defending to test Pickford in the 62nd minute.
Branthwaite’s injury soon after unsettled Everton, and Southampton would have capitalised through Archer, if not for Pickford, who made a sensational save with his feet.
Smallbone hit the woodwork on the follow-up, as Southampton ended the match in the ascendancy, but the damage was already done. They slipped to a Premier League record-equalling 29th defeat of a dismal season, which they bring to a close against Arsenal next week.
Club reports
Everton report | Southampton report
What the managers said
David Moyes: "I never thought I'd be the one to do it [manage them in the new ground]. I'm really pleased. I'm honoured to be given that opportunity. We all see it as another chance. We need to start rebuilding Everton again.
"We've done the job [of staying up]. We have to try to build on that next year. If we can get an atmosphere like this in the new stadium it'll give us every chance of winning games."
Simon Rusk: "Difficult first half for us. We knew it would be an emotional game. We didn't get to the level we'd have hoped in the first half but I was encouraged by the second-half display.
"We have to dust ourselves down and get ready for the last game. There are plenty of positives to take."
Final PL fixture
Key facts
Southampton have lost 29 league games this season, the joint-most losses suffered by a side in a single Premier League campaign alongside Ipswich Town (1994/95), Sunderland (2005/06), Derby County (2007/08) and Sheffield United (2020/21). The last team to lose more games in a single top-flight campaign was Stoke City in 1984/85 (31 losses in a 42 games season).
Everton secured both their first Premier League victory and clean sheet at Goodison Park since a 4-0 win over Leicester in February, having failed to win (D5 L1) and conceding in each of their previous six home games prior to today.
Everton’s Ndiaye scored 2+ goals in a game for the first time since netting twice for Sheffield United against Blackburn in August 2022 in the Championship. The Senegalese is now Everton’s outright top goalscorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals.
Southampton winger Tyler Dibling has failed to win any of his 20 starts in the Premier League (D4 L16). Only Michael Kightly (23 between 2009-2012), Gareth Bale (22 between 2007-2010) and Nicky Summerbee (21 between 1993-1994) have begun their Premier League careers with a longer run of winless starts.
