Merseyside | Everton suffer narrow pre season defeat against Blackburn

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 0 Everton 

Everton continued their preparations for the new season with a narrow defeat to Blackburn Rovers

Author | Sarah W

Stadium | Ewood Park

On an overcast day at Ewood Park, Dion De Neve’s composed early finish proved the difference. Ultimately, this was a win that Rovers deserved against a strong opposition, which included several internationals in their starting eleven. 

A useful 90 minutes for David Moyes despite the defeat

This was a match that offered valuable playing time for David Moyes’s squad as they build fitness ahead of the 2025–26 campaign.

Following Tuesday’s draw with Accrington Stanley, the Toffees named a strong starting eleven, which included the returning Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye after international duty with Senegal. Mark Travers, Everton’s latest signing, was also handed his first appearance in goal since joining the club.

A closer look at what happened

Everton were slow to settle and fell behind within seven minutes. Blackburn moved quickly down the right flank, with Callum Brittain breaking into space and delivering a low pull-back into the box. De Neve, one of Rovers’ summer arrivals, finished calmly to give the hosts the lead.

The visitors responded soon after through Gueye, whose low drive from the edge of the box went narrowly wide following a neat lay-off from Dwight McNeil.

As the first half wore on, Everton began to see more of the ball and started to build pressure, though clear chances remained limited.

Moyes made no changes at the break but introduced three substitutes ten minutes into the second half. Michael Keane, Harrison Armstrong and Isaac Heath replaced Ndiaye, Gueye and Nathan Patterson as the visitors stepped up their search for an equaliser.

They enjoyed the majority of possession after the restart. McNeil saw a curling effort blocked midway through the half, while Jake O’Brien, pushing forward from defence, struck into the side netting from the right edge of the area.

READ MORE | Pre Season match reports from across Europe

READ MORE | Football news and stories from across Merseyside

Moyes made further changes to maintain momentum, sending on Youssef Chermiti and Justin Clarke. Jenson Metcalfe also featured late on, replacing McNeil with ten minutes remaining.

Despite dominating much of the second half, Everton could not find a breakthrough. At the other end, Travers was called into action again, producing another smart save to keep the deficit at one.

The Toffees now head to the United States for their summer tour. They will face Bournemouth in New Jersey next weekend, followed by a meeting with West Ham United in Chicago. The trip concludes with a match against Manchester United in Atlanta.