Photo: Everton Football Club / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
_-_Everton_Football_Club.jpg){kind=link}
A stoppage-time volley from Hakon Haraldsson cancelled out Iliman Ndiaye's first-half penalty as Everton drew 1-1 with Lille in their final pre-season fixture of the summer.
The match, played at Hill Dickinson Stadium, also served as a return to Merseyside for Lille head coach Davide Ancelotti, who previously worked as an assistant at Everton under his father Carlo Ancelotti.
Everton took the lead on 40 minutes when Ndiaye converted from the spot after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was brought down by a reckless Nathan Ngoy challenge. The Senegalese winger had been one of Everton's brightest performers in the first half alongside Tyler Dibling.
New signing Brennan Johnson, acquired from Crystal Palace earlier in the week, came off the bench as part of seven changes on 63 minutes to make his first appearance in an Everton shirt. The forward came close to a debut goal when his powerful effort inside the box was tipped away by goalkeeper Berke Ozer.
Substitute goalkeeper Mark Travers produced two strong saves late on — first denying Benjamin Andre on 83 minutes, then stopping Osame Sahraoui from point-blank range after a corner.
Lille's equaliser came in the third minute of stoppage time, when Haraldsson struck a powerful close-range volley to level the scoreline and deny Everton a win heading into the 2026/27 Premier League campaign.
Jordan Pickford started in goal for Everton, making his first appearance of pre-season after helping England reach a World Cup semi-final during the summer.