Chelsea 2-0 Everton

Chelsea consolidated fourth place in the Premier League when Thomas Tuchel’s undefeated start at Stamford Bridge continued with a 2-0 win over Everton.

In a crucial contest in the Champions League qualifying race, Kai Havertz made decisive contributions in either halftime as Chelsea demonstrated a cut above their four resurgent rivals.

Havertz had a hand in Chelsea’s opener when his goal in the 31st minute deflected from Everton defender Ben Godfrey, and the German won the second-half penalty off Jordan Pickford, giving Jorginho a chance to double. the hosts’ advantage from the penalty spot.

Tuchel’s eighth win as Chelsea manager extends his unbeaten start to 11 games and sees the Blues open a four-point lead over fifth-placed Everton, who saw his three-game winning streak end with a whimper in the capital.

Toffees unable to stop Tuchel’s transformation

Chelsea came out strong, but Everton held their own against the sustained pressure, limiting the hosts to just one attempt in the first quarter of an hour, with Jorginho whistling a volley inches wide after being cleared a corner on the edge of the corner. court. box.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Havertz grew steadily in the game and got involved when Chelsea made the breakthrough just after the half hour mark.

Hudson-Odoi walked brilliantly away from Mason Holgate and Andre Gomes in midfield before releasing Marcos Alonso down the left, and Havertz directed a cross into goal before hitting the bottom corner after a wicked deflection from Godfrey left. to Joran Pickford without the possibility of saving.

Pickford was called up moments later and was up to the challenge as he adjusted his footwork superbly to tip Alonso’s deflected shot around the post and prevent Chelsea from doubling their lead before the break.

Havertz had the ball into Everton’s net for the second time shortly after the restart when he fired a shot past Pickford after knocking down Hudson-Odoi’s floating ball, but was determined to have handled the ball and was denied a goal again. .

Everton’s best chance to get back into the game passed to Richarlison in the 57th minute when he sadly crashed after Gylfi Sigurdsson played with the goal.

And Chelsea soon had her second, with Havertz involved again. The German broke into Mateo Kovacic’s direct pass and jumped around Pickford being knocked down by the Toffees plug.

Jorginho came up with his signature jump, jump and jump to double Chelsea’s lead and reinforce their control into a top four spot.

What the managers said …

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea Head Coach: “We deserved to win. It was a very difficult first half, but we controlled it completely. The second half we raised our level and we had a lot of dangerous attacks.

“You see the quality of the players and the club. It’s a pleasure to be on the sidelines and to work with the team. Everyone at the club is doing everything they can to compete at this level.”

Carlo Ancelotti, Everton coach: “We have to be honest, we are not at the same level. We cannot play an open game against these types of teams.

“The plan was to play the same way that we played against Liverpool, but against Liverpool we scored early.

“We are looking to fight for Europe. This is good for us. We will be there until the last game. We are disappointed by this loss, but not by tragedy. We look towards the next game.”

Chelsea Continue Everton’s Dominance – Match Stats

• Chelsea are undefeated in their last 26 Premier League home games against Everton (15 wins, 11 draws). Only against the Spurs have the Blues had the longest undefeated home run in the history of the top flight (27 between 1990-2016).
• Only against Leeds (35 between 1946-2001) have Everton had a longer winless streak in the top flight than at Chelsea, with the Toffees winless in 26 visits to Stamford Bridge since a 1-0 win in November 1994 .
• Only Maurizio Sarri (12 with Chelsea in 2018-19) and Frank Clark (11 with Nottingham Forest in 1994-95) have started their Premier League managerial careers with a longer unbeaten streak than Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel (currently P9 W6 D3).
• Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has become the first manager in Premier League history to see his team keep a clean sheet in each of their first five home games in charge of the competition, while the Blues have kept five clean sheets in a row in the local league for the first time. since January 2015.
• Everton have scored 53 own goals in the Premier League, seven more than any other team in the competition’s history.

Whats Next?

Saturday March 13 5:00 pm

Start 5:30 pm

Chelsea will travel to Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday at 12.30pm, before Everton host Burnley on Saturday night football at 5.30 pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.