Everton beat Stoke City 1-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
Everton kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 home win over Stoke City on Saturday afternoon, with Wayne Rooney enjoying a dream return to Goodison Park.
After a summer of spending, Everton went into the new season with real expectations of a push to the top six, and they got off to a fine start with Saturday’s 1-0 victory.
Wayne Rooney of Everton (c) scores against Stoke
Wayne Rooney was the hero on his return to Premier League action for Everton, as he latched on to Dominic Calvert-Lewin cross to direct a header past Jack Butland and into the net.
Everton pressed for a second goal but couldn’t find it, and had new signing Jordan Pickford to thank late on, as the goalkeeper produced a superb save to deny Xherdan Shaqiri’s long-range strike.
Ronald Koeman will be delighted to have kicked off the season with a win, but the day belonged to striker Rooney as he enjoyed a fairytale comeback to his boyhood club.
Rooney, now 31, came up through the ranks with Everton before leaving for Manchester United in 2014, and he has now returned to Goodison Park 13 years on in an emotional move for the England international.
Wayne Rooney of Everton (c) scores the opening goal past Jack Butland of Stoke City
Rooney’s goal triggered an outpouring of emotion at Goodison Park, and it was boyhood Toffees fan Rooney leading the celebrations, as he slid in front of the Everton fans following his strike.
The photos below sum up Rooney’s elation, encapsulating the emotion for the striker as he also celebrated with team-mates Idrissa Gueye and Davy Klaassen – and Everton fans will hope to see more of the same this season.
What did you think of Rooney’s performance against Stoke?
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