Fans of Everton celebrate as Iliman Ndiaye of Everton celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park on May 18, 2025
When signing from Olympique Marseille last summer, Iliman Ndiaye spoke how he wanted to be the first player to score at Everton’s new stadium. That’s an ambition that he can still fulfill but in the meantime he has already written himself into the history books by becoming the last player to score at Goodison Park.
Having completed his £15million switch in July, the Senegal international remarked: “It’s funny because someone said to me, ‘Imagine you scoring the first goal at the new stadium.’
"It would be a quiz question for so long, ‘Who scored the first goal for Everton at the new stadium?’
Related Articles
Everton player ratings as Iliman Ndiaye and one other brilliant in Goodison Park farewell
Goodison Park celebrations LIVE - Everton legends say farewell, ceremony stream, goals, score
“At that moment, my daughter, who can’t really talk yet, said, ‘Dada’! Great answer! That’s my target.
“I’ll be very proud to be part of the last season to play Goodison Park, too. There’s history here. I’m really happy to now be part of that.
“I’m so excited to play in front of all these fans because when you watch the games, you hear them on the TV. I’ll try to get them off their seats and they will try to push me on the pitch to get them off their seats. I’m just so excited.”
Well, Ndiaye has done just that. The last dance at the Grand Old Lady has not always been comfortable for Evertonians and even with this 2-0 victory over Southampton, the five home wins that they achieved with this season was the joint lowest in their entire history.
The recent years have been some of the most turbulent periods that Blues have endured but hopefully, brighter times now lie ahead by the Mersey waterfront at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It’s unclear how many of the current crop will still be around next season, but Ndiaye can be a big part of that.