Everton vs Nottingham Forest; Premier League
Everton vs Nottingham Forest. Premier League.
Hill Dickinson StadiumAttendance52,501.
Everton 3
- N Milenkovic (2nd minute own goal)
- T Barry (48th minute)
- K Dewsbury-Hall (80th minute)
Nottingham Forest 0
Everton 3-0 Nottingham Forest: Thierno Barry nets first Toffees goal
Report and free match highlights as Everton beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Hill Dickinson; Thierno Barry scored his first Toffees goal, either side of a second-minute Nikola Milenkovic own goal and a late Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall strike; Everton move up to fifth, Forest stay 16th
Sunday 7 December 2025 12:37, UK
Thierno Barry scored his first Everton goal to help his side beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium as the Toffees moved up to fifth place in the Premier League after a fourth win in five.
Everton had actually lost two of their previous three home games, but David Moyes' team were helped on their way by Nikola Milenkovic's own goal after just one minute and 22 seconds.
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The decisive moment in the game came in first-half stoppage time with Forest pushing for an equaliser, only for Everton to counter at pace through Iliman Ndiaye, who fed Barry in space in the box, with the striker keeping his cool to finish under Matz Sels.
Forest boss Sean Dyche would have been furious about the three-on-one counterattack, but with Barry and Charly Alcaraz [one goal in 13] in support, Ndiaye could have been forgiven for going it alone, but he unselfishly passed to his left to give Barry his moment after 737 Premier League minutes.
This was the 23-year-old's 17th appearance since his £27million move from Villarreal and his sixth successive start since Moyes decided to put his trust in the Frenchman rather than the more experienced Beto.
Everton had not lost any of the previous seven league matches after taking the lead, winning five, but they were helped by a poor Forest who did not register a shot on target until Jordan Pickford turned away Elliot Anderson's effort moments before Barry's goal.
Nicolas Dominguez, a replacement for half-time substitute Ryan Yates, was denied a goal by James Tarkowski after Pickford failed to deal with a cross and it proved significant as Dewsbury-Hall, who earlier hit a post, drilled home from a corner.
What the managers said...
Everton boss David Moyes:
"He [Barry] will not be able to play another six games and only score one goal. He has been given the opportunity but I have to say Beto is beginning to show more. Barry will have to keep playing well.
"In the opening games of the season we were happy to change them around after 60 minutes because we were needing one of them to score and none of them scoring at the time.
"The choice was to give Thierno a run in the team to get used to the Premier League but we are really hoping Beto comes back into form as well as we need the goals from both of them."
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche:
"Obviously never got off to a good start, which is not helpful.
"I never thought we got close to the performance level from the group - the competitive nature, the desire, the will, the collective desire to take the game on.
"I thought they [Everton] did; they started bright, they were competing, getting the ball forward, all the basics.
"They looked more up for it and we were lacking that today. It's a real reminder to our group."
Dewsbury-Hall adding goals to his attacking armoury
Analysis by Sky Sports' Rich Morgan:
Much of the attention at Everton this season has rightly been on Jack Grealish's performances on the left of their attack, but on Saturday it was his fellow playmaker Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who caught the eye with a virtuoso attacking display in the No 10 role.
The 27-year-old, who joined the Toffees from Chelsea in the summer, was at the heart of everything the home team did well at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, scoring his team's late third goal to seal a comfortable win, moments after bending a shot against the post from the edge of the area.
That late strike was Dewsbury-Hall's third in his last four Premier League games - just one fewer than he managed in his first 82 appearances in the competition beforehand - and if he can continue adding goals to his game at this rate, he will have proved an astute acquisition.
