Match Report: Efficient Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 thanks to unlikely attacking influence | OneFootball

Chelsea saw off Everton 2-0 at Stamford Bridge after the Blues took their chances and defended well to end their four game run without a win.

It was a very slow, pedestrian start to the game from both teams. Everton were happy to sit deep and see what Chelsea had planned, while the Blues made their usual patient approach to possession.

The opening goal came as something of a surprise, therefore, especially give how simple it was. Malo Gusto threaded a ball through for Cole Palmer, who had timed his run perfectly and slotted away his first goal since September.

After that the tempo lifted a little, but it was still a pretty dull first half. Everton gradually played out more and Chelsea were able to attack the space behind they left. Alejandro Garnacho should have scored a second, but otherwise chances were few and far between. The away team were actually the side creating better chances, and they probably should have scored, but just before half time they were finally caught out by Chelsea.

Pedro Neto surged down the right and picked out Malo Gusto who tucked the ball away, and from that point it felt a long way back for David Moyes’ men. Chelsea sat deeper and deeper in the second period, slowing the game down even more and replacing Cole Palmer with Andrey Santos to add some more solidity in the middle.

They really effectively closed the game out, limiting Everton to really few chances until the final few minutes where the away team had some success.

MOTM – Malo Gusto

Analysis

Trevoh Chalobah holds off Illiman Ndiaye. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

It wasn’t pretty, but Chelsea got the job done. All too often in the last couple of years we’ve seen them dominate but not take their chances. In this game they didn’t create much, but scored twice when it really mattered and killed the game off really effectively.

Defensively they were really solid, and despite a late rally from Everton, the partnership of Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah held strong. Having those two able to play together every week has been key to our good results this season, and we need it to continue if we want to get back on track.

Teams

Chelsea Robert Sánchez Malo Gusto Wesley Fofana Trevoh Chalobah Marc Cucurella Reece James Enzo Fernández Pedro Neto Cole Palmer Alejandro Garnacho João Pedro

Substitutes Filip Jørgensen Tosin Adarabioyo Benoît Badiashile Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (on 65′) Andrey Santos (on 58′) Jorrel Hato Josh Acheampong Marc Guiu Estêvão (on 81′)

Everton Jordan Pickford Jake O’Brien James Tarkowski Michael Keane Vitaliy Mykolenko Idrissa Gueye James Garner Iliman Ndiaye Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Jack Grealish Thierno Barry

Substitutes Mark Travers Nathan Patterson Dwight McNeil Norberto Beto (on 68′) Tyler Dibling (on 84′) Carlos Alcaraz (on 16′) Adam Aznou Tim Iroegbunam (on 84′) Elijah Campbell

Stats

Quote of the game

“It’s been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because people didn’t support me and the team.” – Enzo Maresca’s shocking post match comments.