Everton defeated Nottingham Forest convincingly on Saturday afternoon to move within touching distance of the top four.
David Moyes’ side beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, making it four wins in their last five games.
Everton now reside in sixth place and are just two points adrift of the Champions League spots, quite remarkably.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was the star of the show once again, and Thierno Barry created a lot of headlines after netting his first goal for the club.
It turns out Gary Lineker was in the stands that day, and the former Toffees striker has just given his honest verdict on the new 52,000-seater stadium.
Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Gary Lineker left blown away by Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium
Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker shares his thoughts on the Hill Dickinson Stadium after visiting for the first time in the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest.
“I was at Everton, I had a good time actually, it was really good,” Lineker explained.
“Peter Reid said I had to come up and see the Hill Dickinson. I went up with my mate JD and it was brilliant, what a stadium… honestly it’s amazing and the acoustics inside… they’ve obviously done some work for the sound and it was jumping in there.
MORE EVERTON STORIES
“It was really good, they looked after us really well, saw a few faces I hadn’t seen for a few years, which was lovely. All in all we had a really good time, good food.”
Which do you prefer, the Hill Dickinson Stadium or Goodison Park?
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Former Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler was also in awe of Everton’s new stadium when he visited for the first time against Crystal Palace earlier this season.
Hill Dickinson Stadium has been specifically designed to create a loud atmosphere
The Hill Dickinson Stadium architect Dan Meis shared why the atmosphere is so good at the new ground when speaking to the club website earlier this year.
Meis explained: “I think one of the other things that people will notice is the acoustics of the building, because of the shape of the roof, it was something we worked with our engineers on keeping the shape of the roof and the closeness of the roof to the stands to really enhance the acoustics of the building.
Give us your verdict on the Hill Dickinson Stadium so far in ONE word
Everton v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
“People often forget how important the noise of the crowd is to the play on the pitch, and that was a big part of our remit to make sure that not only did the fans feel like they were close, the players can hear them and in a way that’s deafening, and it becomes a really intimidating place for opposing players to play.”
Gareth Barry recently said the Hill Dickinson atmosphere was almost as good as Goodison Park, so clearly Everton have been able to retain that Goodison Park feel, with fans almost on top of the pitch.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox