There’s worse ways to spent 15 minutes than to watch all of Everton’s 2024-25 goals on Youtube. This was far from a vintage season but there were some gems in there. Here are my top 10:
10) Iliman Ndiaye v Leicester City
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We got an early taster of Iliman Ndiaye’s skills and trickery with this finely taken goal against Leicester in September. He exchanged passes with Ashley Young, got ahead of his marker and skipped away from another, before burying the ball low into the corner off the post.
9) Ashley Young v Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Everton don’t score many direct free-kicks so Ashley Young’s against Wolves deserves to make the cut. Though the angle suited a left-footer, right-footed Young bent the ball around the wall and into the goalkeeper’s near post to give Everton the lead in a vital game against what was then a relegation rival.
8) Abdoulaye Doucoure v Leicester City
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Abdoulaye Doucoure will forever be remembered by Evertonians for THAT goal against Bournemouth, but he also etched his name in the Toffees history books by scoring the quickest Premier League goal in Goodison Park’s history against Leicester in February. His close-range strike from Jordan Pickford’s long kick hit the net with just 10.18 seconds on the clock, the earliest Everton have ever scored in the Premier League, the fourth-fastest goal in the competition’s history and the quickest ever by a home team.
7) Michael Keane v Ipswich Town
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Big Mick Keane is a bit of an enigma. He has all the attributes to be a top defender but all too often brings chaos and uncertainty. Give him a chance at the other end though and he will usually smash it in the net. There are not many cleaner strikers of the ball in the team and he showed that against Ipswich at Portman Road, leathering the ball left footed from a tight angle into the top corner.
6) Dwight McNeil v Ipswich Town
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From my first view in the Gwladys Street end I assumed this had taken a wild deflection given Alex Palmer was completely wrongfooted. But the replays showed how wrong I was to doubt Dwight McNeil’s technique, as he hit across the ball to make it swerve and completely bamboozle the Ipswich goalkeeper.
5) Dwight McNeil v Crystal Palace
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Another Dwight special, this time at a crucial time in a crucial game against Crystal Palace as the Toffees sought their first Premier League win of the season. Trailing 1-0, McNeil collected Ashley Young’s pass, took a touch to open up his body before bending an absolute beauty into the top corner.
4) Iliman Ndiaye v Manchester City
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The magic man was at it again on Boxing Day. This was a brilliant example of skill and ingenuity. His first touch nearly saw the ball get away from him, but the quick-thinking Ndiaye, with his marker lurking, opted for the first-time shot with the outside of his right foot that swerved into the top corner, helping the Toffees earn a valuable point.
3) Iliman Ndiaye v Tottenham Hotspur
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See the theme developing here? This probably my favourite Ndiaye goal. The Senegalese playing a one-two with Orel Mangala on halfway before sprinting towards a timid backtracking Tottenham defence, skipping past Radu Dragusin and rifling the ball into the roof of the net.
2) Iliman Nidaye v Southampton
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This wasn’t his most spectacular, and his first was undoubtedly better, but I have bumped Ndiaye’s second goal against Southampton up the list because of his historic significance. The final goal ever scored in a senior men’s game at Goodison Park, 133 years after the first.
1) James Tarkowski v Liverpool
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Was it really going to be anything else? I was fortunate enough to be in the Gwladys Street for this game and I have rarely heard a noise like it when James Tarkowski’s volley hit the back of the net. The final derby and the final match under the lights, it also felt like the final time Goodison was truly rocking.