As pre-match pyrotechnics sent blue smoke arching in the direction of the River Mersey, it was a day of new beginnings for Everton – and for a player who risked becoming one of the Premier League’s great lost talents.
Everton were playing the first Premier League game at their magnificent new state-of-the-art stadium, finally leaving Goodison Park behind after 133 years.
Supporters gathered in their thousands hours before kick-off, making their way from the famous Liver Birds at the Pier Head to Hill Dickinson Stadium for a historic day, the start of what Everton hope will be a prosperous new era after years of financial and footballing struggle.
And the name on so many fans’ lips was that of Jack Grealish, released from life in the shadows at Manchester City to start again on loan at Everton, the most high-profile arrival at the club this summer.
Grealish, who will turn 30 in September, has lived life on the margins under Pep Guardiola in recent seasons, making only seven league starts last term.
He has the motivation of knowing England head coach Thomas Tuchel is a confirmed admirer, with the World Cup on the horizon next summer. The goal is obvious.
So the stage was set, Grealish instantly feeling the love of more than 50,000 Everton fans as he swiftly showed a desire to take on defenders, a quality that seemed lost in his latter days at City.
Everton’s performance may not have been perfect, but on a day when only victory mattered, they achieved the desired outcome with a 2-0 win against Brighton, with Grealish playing a significant role.
He felt, for the first time in a long time, the buzz of the crowd when the ball was at his feet, and it took only 23 minutes for Grealish to deliver exactly what Everton manager David Moyes wanted when he made his pitch to lure him to Merseyside from Etihad Stadium.
Grealish drove deep into the Brighton penalty area, leaving Mats Wieffer in his wake before drilling a cross to the far post, where the incoming Iliman Ndiaye made a difficult finish look easy.
It was Grealish in the one-on-one territory he loved so much at his peak, and how he relished the release of emotion and celebration with Ndiaye.