The Pierre Sage era got off to a disappointing start as Crystal Palace fell to a 2-0 defeat away at Everton.
Goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry were enough to condemn the Eagles to a fourth defeat in the last five trips to face the Toffees.
The big pre-match team news for the Eagles is that Ismaila Sarr was not involved in the matchday squad.
Another big player for Crystal Palace last season was involved, though, as Jean-Philippe Mateta failed to take advantage of a poor clearance by James Tarkowski, firing over from close range.
The visitors had started the better, coming closer to the opener as the ball dropped to Daniel Muñoz on the far side of the box, but Jordan Pickford was alert and pushed it away.
Palace were then caught on the counterattack, led by Merlin Röhl, with the German finding Iliman Ndiaye on the edge of the box, and his strike forced Dean Henderson into an important save.
Sage’s side continued to push for the lead though, as Adam Wharton’s sensationally threaded pass found Eddie Nketiah in behind; however, Jordan Pickford pulled off another ridiculous save, pushing the ball onto the post.
Palace’s early good work in the first half threatened to be undone when Jaydee Canvot was involved in a collision with Jarrad Branthwaite, though Branthwaite was judged to have been offside. Even despite the lengthy VAR check, the offside call was soon confirmed.
The visitors should have been in front 38 minutes in after Nketiah slipped Mateta in with the goal gaping, but he could only fire it against the post, the second time the Eagles had hit the post in the first half.
It would be costly as four minutes later Everton took the lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Daniel Muñoz losing the ball to Harrison Armstrong, who picked out his fellow midfielder to fire it past Henderson and send the Evertonians into raptures.
Everton continued their positive momentum into the early stages of the second half, with Ndiaye carrying the ball through the heart of the Palace midfield and finding Dewsbury-Hall, but this time his effort was wild.
The Toffees doubled their lead in the 53rd minute, a quick free-kick from the hosts found Ndiaye in space, and his pinpoint cross found Thierno Barry, who headed home on the goal line.
Things nearly got worse for the visitors, as Henderson was needed to deny Ndiaye from close range moments later.
Sage was dealt another unfortunate blow after Chadi Riad was forced off on a stretcher with a potential knee injury, with Takehiro Tomiyasu coming on to make his debut for Crystal Palace, and his first Premier League appearance since October 2024.
Brennan Johnson came on for his first Everton appearance with seven minutes to go, having swapped with Dwight McNeil from the Eagles to Merseyside earlier in the summer.
The Welshman almost sealed a miserable afternoon for Sage’s side, though he was unable to get on the end of a delightful cross from Dewsbury-Hall.
Yeremy Pino had been quiet since coming on in the 63rd minute, but created a brilliant opportunity for himself in the depths of stoppage time, cutting in and leaving Merlin Röhl on the floor, only to blast his effort into the upper tiers of the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It summed up Crystal Palace’s second-half performance: despite having some brilliant chances in the first half, a couple of sloppy errors were enough for Everton to open the season with a 2-0 win, and the long wait for the Eagles to win away at the Toffees continued.
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