Everton bade an emotional farewell to Goodison Park, its home of 133 years, with a 2-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday in front of dozens of the club’s greatest players and a tearful, scarf-waving crowd.
Iliman Ndiaye will go down as Everton's final scorer in its atmospheric, long-time ground, with the Senegal forward grabbing both goals in the first half and walking off with the match ball on an occasion that turned into a party for the team's fans.
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Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans let off flares before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans let off flares before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans make their way to the stadium before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye, left, celebrates scoring with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ashley Young, right, during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
“Very special,” Ndiaye said. “I wanted to give them something today.”
Everton will move from one of English soccer’s classic stadiums to a 53,000-seat waterfront arena at nearby Bramley-Moore Dock for the start of next season. Goodison Park was going to be demolished but, after a feasibility study, will continue to operate instead in the women’s game as the new home of Everton Women from next season.
Plumes of blue smoke filled the air around the streets outside Goodison as fans gathered before kickoff. Inside, Wayne Rooney and Tim Cahill were among about 80 former Everton players invited to attend the game at the ground some refer to as the “Grand Old Lady.”
Some supporters were in tears and many swung their scarves above the heads as the club’s adopted pre-match anthem — the theme from Z-Cars, a British TV series from across the 1960s and 1970s — played around Goodison to greet the teams emerging from the tunnel to a sea of blue.
The party really got going in the 2,791st Everton game at Goodison when Ndiaye curled a left-foot shot into the bottom corner in the sixth minute. He rounded Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in the second minute of first-half stoppage time for his second and what Everton said was the 5,372nd goal at the ground.
Veteran right back Seamus Coleman, the club captain, had led Everton out for the game but he picked up a thigh injury and was substituted off in the 18th minute to applause.
Fans hugged each other and choked back tears after the final whistle.
“We’ll go down in history as the last team to win at Goodison,” Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said. "That’s what the manager asked of us today.
“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us but let's enjoy this moment.”
And Everton did, holding an “End of an Era” show after the game featuring, among other things, video messages on the big screen from the likes of former manager Carlo Ancelotti and former player Mikel Arteta.
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Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans let off flares before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans let off flares before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton fans make their way to the stadium before the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton, the last to be played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye, left, celebrates scoring with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ashley Young, right, during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday May 18, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
