FPL notes: Grealish “great”, Ndiaye pen + Keane injury

Jack Grealish (£6.9m) scored a late winner as Everton came from behind to end Crystal Palace’s 19-match unbeaten run.

Here are our Scout Notes from the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

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GREALISH “GREAT”

Everton remain unbeaten at their new stadium, having snatched a 2-1 victory during added time.

Grealish scored the crucial winner, marking his first goal for the Toffees, when a clearance from Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) deflected off him and into the net.

Playing out on the left, Grealish had three shots in the box overall, as many as he had in Gameweeks 4-6 combined.

“I had two proper shots, I don’t know if you can count the goal as a shot. I said I want to get in those positions more and the manager actually said it to me at half-time, try and get in at the back post and I was there and the goals come from that, so I have the manager to thank.” – Jack Grealish

“Jack did great again. He had a couple of shots on target which were pretty comfortable for the goalkeeper to save but I have been pushing him. I want him to get goals as well as assists. He was Johnny on the spot, that’s the key to it isn’t it?” – David Moyes on Jack Grealish

This was Grealish’s last match for three weeks.

Having been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, Grealish is ineligible to face his parent club, Manchester City, when Everton return to action in Gameweek 8.

The time off should benefit him, however, given that he’s been playing with an injury.

“Jack has had a couple of minor injuries which, over the last two games, have had to nurse him a wee bit. He’s had to miss the odd day’s training with it but his performances are not in question. He’s doing a lot of good things.” – David Moyes on Jack Grealish

NDIAYE PEN

With Grealish playing out wide on the left, Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m) was deployed in the No 10 role in the absence of the suspended Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m).

But he moved back to the right in the second half and looked much more effective, scoring from the penalty spot after Maxence Lacroix’s (£5.1m) clumsy challenge.

David Moyes certainly deserves a lot of credit for his side’s performance after the break.

They were like a different team, with Beto (£5.3m) providing a proper focal point.

Tyler Dibling (£5.5m), meanwhile, was poor on his first Premier League start and was replaced at half-time.

KEANE INJURY

Everton centre-back Michael Keane was unable to carry on in the second half, having picked up an injury.

Further assessment is now required.

“He’s got something in between his ribs. I don’t really know the outcome as I’ve not spoken to them yet to see what they say.” – David Moyes on Michael Keane

Before his withdrawal on 64 minutes, Keane had racked up 11 defensive contributions (DefCon).

Everton’s other defenders – James Tarkowski (£5.5m), Jack O’Brien (£5.0m) and Vitalli Mykolenko (£4.9m) – successfully hit the DefCon threshold, too.

MAGNIFICENT MUNOZ/MATETA WASTEFUL

Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions has come to an end, with this their first loss since April.

However, they were by far the better team in the first half on Sunday, and created sufficient chances to put the game to bed.

Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) was particularly wasteful, missing two gilt-edged opportunities.

The Frenchman, who will now report for international duty with France, has now missed seven big chances this season, the most of any player:

The goal was ultimately scored by Munoz instead, following a rapid counter-attack involving Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m), who provided the assist.

Sarr has now delivered three goals and one assist in five Premier League starts in 2025/26.

But Palace’s midweek European exertions finally seemed to catch up with them, as they paid the price for those earlier missed opportunities.

“It’s disappointing and very painful because it’s completely unnecessary. It’s our fault, it’s our responsibility. We played so well over 60 or 70 minutes with enough chances to decide the game. [Tiredness] would be a cheap excuse. We’re never looking for excuses. We could have decided it in the first 60 minutes, and we had then fresh legs on the pitch.

“That’s the missing link to be a top team in the Premier League, to take the chances to decide the game when you can decide it. We made one mistake in defence – we don’t make many mistakes in our defence – we made one, they got the penalty and the game was open. Then it was ‘okay, who gets the lucky punch and takes it’. Today it was Everton, last week we had the lucky punch, so that’s football. Again, I’ve seen over 60-70 minutes, a fantastic performance from us.” – Oliver Glasner

On the DefCon front, all three Palace centre-halves, as well as Munoz, Daichi Kamada (£5.0m) and Adam Wharton (£5.0m), hit the threshold.

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