From left to right, Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson, Everton's Jack Grealish and Leeds United's Jayden Bogle battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road in Leeds, England, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Grealish debuts for Everton in loss at promoted Leeds in Premier League

Jack Grealish was unable to inspire Everton after going on as a second-half substitute for his debut in a 1-0 loss to promoted Leeds in the Premier League on Monday.

The England forward, a poster boy of English soccer, is looking to reignite his career after leaving Manchester City on loan and had to be content with a place on the bench for Everton’s opening game.

Grealish entered in the 71st minute when the score was 0-0 at Elland Road and struggled to make an impact before Leeds was awarded a penalty when Everton captain James Tarkowski blocked a goal-bound shot with his left arm as he leaned his body toward the ball.

Lukas Nmecha, a summer signing only on the field for six minutes as a substitute, stroked the spot kick past Jordan Pickford with just his third touch of the ball for the only goal in the 84th.

Pickford prepared for the penalty by looking at his water bottle. While playing for England, he has had the name of potential opposition penalty-takers on his bottle and where they might hit their attempt.

“That was a bit of a bluff, to be fair,” said Nmecha, a German-born winger who joined on a free transfer after leaving Wolfsburg. “I don’t think I was one of the names on there.”

Everton manager David Moyes was unhappy at the awarding of the penalty, saying “it wasn’t fair” because Tarkowski’s arm wasn’t in an unnatural position.

“Tarky would have had to get his arm chopped off,” Moyes said. “It wasn’t outside his body, he wasn’t doing anything different.”

Leeds was making its return to the Premier League after a two-year absence and was the second promoted team to win in the opening round, after Sunderland.

Everton, which failed to have a shot on goal in the first half, will hope for a better performance on Sunday when the team hosts Brighton for the first competitive game in its new, 53,000-seat waterfront stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which has replaced Goodison Park as Everton’s home.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Leeds United’s Lukas Nmecha celebrates scoring their side’s first goal of the game from a penalty during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road, in Leeds, England, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road, in Leeds, England, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
Everton’s James Tarkowski and Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto, right, battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road, in Leeds, England, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

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