The beginning of a new season always brings excitement. A taste of competitive football with the hopes and dreams among fanbases higher than ever.
Squads begin to take shape as the pre-season schedule of games keep players ticked over until that first kick of a Premier League ball.
A win from the opening fixture can be the catalyst for a successful season, but an unbeaten start regardless would not be detrimental to those ambitions.
This is no different for Everton, who look to start with a bang this time around after a turbulent 2023/24 campaign.
Despite losing their first game in each of the last two seasons, the Toffees have only been beaten ten times in their 32 opening league matches.
The Blues will hope to preserve that record when they host Brighton this weekend.
With that in mind, VAVEL decided to look into Everton's most memorable curtain-raisers since the Premier League's inception in 1992.
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1993-94: Southampton 0-2 Everton
Everton's first opening day win in the Premier League came during the 1993/94 season, a year in which the Toffees escaped relegation on the final day with a dramatic victory over Wimbledon.
They started the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Southampton at the Dell, which began when Peter Beagrie volleyed home from the edge of the area to put the Blues ahead.
John Ebbrell grabbed a second to wrap up the victory by half-time, before a quiet second period ensured a winning start for Everton.
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1996/97: Everton 2-0 Newcastle
Unbeaten in every curtain-raiser since the Premier League began, Everton continued that run with a 2-0 win against a largely-fancied Newcastle team that had the worlds most expensive player in their ranks.
Alan Shearer aside, Duncan Ferguson was the man of the moment, winning a penalty that was duly dispatched by David Unsworth for 1-0.
The Scot then created another opening, this time for Toffees fan Gary Speed to mark his debut in style and round off a deserved first-half scoreline which remained until the final whistle.
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2002/03: Everton 2-2 Tottenham
August 2002 saw Everton celebrate their 100th top-flight season, in addition to a certain Wayne Rooney making his professional debut at the age of 16.
The game finished all-square but started perfectly for the hosts, who took the lead courtesy of a pinpoint Rooney pass for Mark Pembridge to finish off.
It was less comfortable in the second-half as goals from Matthew Etherington and Les Ferdinand gave the visitors the lead, before Tomasz Radzinski's low drive late on rescued a point towards Everton's final standing of seventh place.
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2012/13: Everton 1-0 Manchester United
Everton under David Moyes were traditionally known as slow-starters to the season, having lost seven of their ten opening-day games with him at the helm.
But they shook off that tag in the 2012/13 campaign when the Toffees managed a 1-0 victory over title-favourites Man United at a rocking Goodison Park.
Marouane Fellaini proved to be the match winner with his second-half header from Darron Gibson’s corner - the catalyst for an eventual top six finish.
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2017/18: Everton 1-0 Stoke
A familiar face returned to Merseyside in the summer of 2017, Rooney back for a second Everton spell and producing a moment that was written in the stars.
The Blues came into the season having failed to win any of their last four opening day fixtures, with a buoyant home crowd hedging their bets on the prodigal son to deliver a different outcome.
They didn’t have to wait long for the impact as Rooney arrived to head the hosts into a first-half lead and secure all three points, in reference to a less-exciting second period.
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2020/21: Tottenham 0-1 Everton
The 2020/21 campaign was an unusual one, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which saw supporters unable to be in stadiums until the back end of the season.
That unfortunately meant that the Everton faithful had to watch an impressive 1-0 away victory against Tottenham from afar.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home a 55th minute winner, the first of a career-best 16 league goals which guided the Toffees to a respectable 10th place.
With the opening day success of Everton sides gone before them, a similar outcome for Sean Dyche's men could be the omen for a positive 2024/25 campaign.
