The clock had just ticked past 70 minutes when Jack Grealish escaped the instructions of David Moyes and jogged on to the pitch, serenaded by insults from the Leeds fans and wrapped in the hope of Evertonians.
It was a last shot at inspiration for the visitors because, until that point, they had had none. They had been relentlessly outplayed by a clever, fluent, flowing Leeds side on a return to the Premier League that bodes well for their chances of survival this season.
Everton, by contrast, had been shorn of guile. They did not summon a single shot in the first half. They gave the ball away with abandon. Leeds, roared on by the mighty voice of Elland Road, overwhelmed them with their energy and their poise. For all those 70 minutes that he sat on the bench, Grealish, newly arrived on loan from Manchester City after being frozen out by Pep Guardiola and not even making his 27-man squad that went to this summer’s Club World Cup, represented the hope that he could change all that.
The rest of us waited to see if Grealish was just a shadow now of the player he once was and while we waited, it was one of Leeds’ new signings, Lukas Nmecha, who stole the show from the former England wide man.
Nmecha, who joined on a free transfer from Wolfsburg in the summer and had only been on the pitch for six minutes, stepped up to the spot in the 84th minute after a piledriver from Anton Stach had been blocked by the arm of James Tarkowski.
The decision to award a penalty was only confirmed after a lengthy VAR check but it was the correct one.
Lukas Nmecha scored the only goal as Leeds beat Everton 1-0 on their Premier League return
Jack Grealish came off the bench for Everton at 0-0, but Leeds’ sub Nmecha stole the spotlight
Nmecha scored from the penalty spot in the closing stages after James Tarkowski’s handball
Nmecha dispatched the penalty confidently, low past the left hand of Jordan Pickford, and Leeds had the three points that they thoroughly deserved from an impressive night back in the top flight. Everton were left hoping that Grealish’s influence will grow.
There was little else for the visitors to cling on to as they prepare for their first match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, their spectacular new arena on the banks of the Mersey, against Brighton on Sunday.
Leeds and their manager, Daniel Farke, know the odds — and history — are stacked against them in their bid to stay in the division this season. In each of the last two seasons, the three teams promoted from the Championship have all gone straight back down.
Last season, it was the turn of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton to yo-yo. Farke is as well-acquainted as anyone with the size of the task ahead. Of the 49 Premier League games he had taken charge of before last night, he had won only six.
Leeds have spent £75million in the close season on eight players and three of them — Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Anton Stach — made their debuts from the start. Dominic Calvert- Lewin, the most high-profile new arrival, was deemed not ready and did not make the bench.
The home side forged the first chance inside five minutes, though they owed their opportunity to James Tarkowski’s failure to clear a cross from Wilfried Gnonto. The ball ran on to Joel Piroe but Jordan Pickford rushed out to block his shot.
Much has been made of the fact that five of Leeds’ new signings are over six feet tall but Gnonto, who is diminutive by comparison, was one of his side’s most dangerous players in the first half. He epitomised the ambition and skill his team showed. In this land of giants, the fleet-footed striker was king.
‘We are Leeds, we are Leeds, we are Leeds,’ boomed out around the ground. The home team attacked relentlessly. Everton barely saw the ball. Leeds won five corners in the first 14 minutes and Everton’s defending took on an increasingly desperate hue.
Tarkowski was adjudged to have handled as he attempted to block an Anton Stach effort
Tarkowski had protested his innocence but VAR confirmed the awarding of the penalty
Everton fans were left hoping Grealish’s influence will grow after making his debut
Pickford came to try to claim one of the corners, then thought better of it and retreated. Ao Tanaka headed the ball across goal and, after an almighty scramble, Everton hacked it clear and breathed again.
Leeds pressed on. They swept the ball from one side of the pitch to the other with fluency and confidence. Their dominance in the first half-hour was so complete it felt as if they were back in the Championship.
Everton were crying out for someone to put their foot on the ball and keep it. On cue, the TV cameras cut to Grealish talking earnestly to a team-mate on the Everton bench, making what looked like a series of tactical suggestions.
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Grealish began to warm up and engaged in some friendly exchanges with Leeds fans in the crowd. Leeds did not let up. Jake O’Brien made a fine goal-line clearance from a curling cross by Stach that Daniel James was waiting to prod in.
Leeds mustered 12 shots in the first half, compared to none from Everton, the first time for two years that a side managed by Moyes had failed to conjure a shot in the opening 45 minutes for more than four years.
Idrissa Gana Gueye finally brought that run to an end eight minutes after half time with an effort that rose too high to trouble Perri in the Leeds goal. Everton’s first yellow card came soon after, courtesy of a clumsy, late tackle by Tim Iroegbunam, that caught Leeds skipper Ethan Ampadu and left him in a crumpled heap.
It began to feel as if Leeds may not be able to convert all their superiority into a goal. It began to feel as if this might be a night made for Grealish, the great entertainer. But after Grealish had come off the bench, Nmecha came off the bench, too, and won the game.
