LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 13: David Moyes speaks to Jack Grealish of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium on September 13, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
David Moyes speaks to Jack Grealish during the Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium
(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
David Moyes hailed the displays of wingers Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye following Everton’s goalless draw with Aston Villa.
Grealish went into the game against his boyhood club Villa where he started his career having been named EA Sports Player of the Month after four assists from his first two Premier League starts for the Blues.
Ndiaye, meanwhile, overcame “a knock” that Moyes claimed in his pre-match press conference was concerning him. Although there was no way through for the hosts against their stubborn opponents, the manager was still pleased with what he saw.
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Moyes said: “I thought Jack did brilliantly. I thought Ili was fantastic in the first half and I thought Jack was brilliant as well.
“I thought the two of them were fantastic in their ball-carrying, their one-v-one situations and are making us look a much bigger threat than we were before.”
The 62-year-old was also satisfied with the way Everton performed as a whole as they extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches having been beaten 1-0 at Leeds United in their opening fixture.
Moyes said: “It was a really good performance. It was intense, a good Premier League game.
“I thought we had the best of it to be honest. I feel we were a bit unlucky not to come away with all three points.
“It was frustrating but we’re trying to improve. We lost 1-0 to Aston Villa the last time we played them in my first game and today we got a draw.
“If you were being honest, you’d probably say we warranted a bit more, but we didn’t get it.
“That happens in football at times and we made enough chances to probably score but we needed that clinical finish.
“I’m more pleased because I thought the players put in a brilliant performance.
“They played with a lot of confidence and a lot of intensity and I thought the crowd showed that as well, they saw the team fighting all the way until the last minute.”
The Glaswegian was also encouraged by Merlin Rohl’s debut as the transfer deadline day signing came on to replace former Aston Villa player Tim Iroegbunam in central midfield on 66 minutes.
The 23-year-old German has joined on a season-long loan from Freiburg with an obligation to buy permanently next summer and Moyes said: “If you’re going to ask me to judge them after 20 minutes in a game, it’s really difficult. I am needing longer to see them, but what we have seen of him we like. “I thought today, he came on, it’s never easy and you’ve got to remember Aston Villa are one of the best teams in the Premier League and have been for the last couple of seasons and our performance was good against a really good side.”