Everton are 7th in the Premier League with 9 points from five games and no defeats. Their run is 2 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses, and it has pushed the mood around the club from resignation into guarded optimism. Iliman Ndiaye's early form has helped that shift feel grounded rather than fanciful.

Everton's start and the numbers behind it

The unbeaten run includes a 1-0 win over Wolves in the League Cup and a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, part of a five-game sequence that has given supporters a bit more to hold on to. Everton have scored 6 league goals and conceded 3, so this has not been a chaotic start built on luck alone.

That is why the old misery narrative feels incomplete right now. It still exists, of course, but a side sitting 7th after five matches, with a +3 goal difference and only three goals conceded, is giving a much more practical answer than debate club slogans ever do.

Ndiaye and the Moyes factor

Ndiaye has made 3 Premier League appearances for Everton in 2026, with 0 goals, 1 assist and a 7.26 rating across those league outings. On a small body of work, that is enough to explain why he has become such an important part of the early optimism.

David Moyes also has a threadbare squad to work with after a difficult final day of the transfer window left him with only 18 senior outfield players. That does not guarantee anything over the long run, and nobody sensible should pretend it does, but it does make the opening run look more impressive. Leon Osman captured the other side of the story when he told BBC Sport: "Yes, there have been disappointments and those years without trophies, but let me tell you this - I wouldn't swap being an Evertonian for anything in the world."

Osman, who made 433 appearances and scored 58 goals for Everton, also pushed back on the idea that the club's recent history is just misery. Everton are not suddenly cured of every old problem, but the first five league matches have given them a start that supporters can reasonably point to and enjoy.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →