5 Things we learned from Chelsea’s intense win over Everton

1. That’s probably Xabi Alonso’s favourite performance from his Chelsea side so far this season. Going to the Hill Dickinson to play an unbeaten Everton side so far this season was never going to be easy but Chelsea came through unscathed to pick up an important three points in the early kick-off, the first half was one which neither team really took control off but both teams did create chances with Thierno Barry missing the chance of the half heading Grealish’s cross straight at Martinez from about six yards out. Chelsea’s closest attempt of the half came from a well worked corner as Henderson speared the ball to the back-post to Caicedo who connected brilliantly with a volley that clipped the top of the bar, there wasn’t much to separate the teams at half-time but I’d say Moyes would have been the happier out of the two managers. It took just two minutes into the second half to get our first goal of the afternoon as Morgan Rogers played a lovely backheel to the on running Jorrel Hato who sprinted into the box before firing the ball across the box to Pedro Neto who got the ball out of his feet and rolled the ball past Pickford to give Chelsea the lead, the goal seemed to knock Everton’s confidence as Chelsea took control of the game but were struggling to create clear openings despite having most of the ball. The game took a nasty turn in the 66th minute as Jarrad Braithwaite and Emi Martinez collided in the box as they both went for the ball which led to an over ten minute delay in the game and Martinez unfortunately needing stretched off and taken to hospital, Braithwaite was alright to continue but Mike Penders would have to step in for the remainder of the game for Chelsea. As Everton pushed for an equaliser it would leave them open at the back which led a Chelsea free-kick on the edge of the box near the 90th minute with 11 minutes of added time left to play, Henderson’s effort hit the wall before bobbling around in the box eventually falling to Pedro Neto who curled his second goal of the game into the bottom corner to kill the game for Chelsea. A proper away performance from Chelsea who catapult themselves into the top 4.

2. A‍ first clean sheet in the Premier League since January for Chelsea. That statistic is crazy but shows the trouble Chelsea have had defensively over the last nine months which Alonso seems to have sorted over the last couple of weeks, they were unlucky to concede to Bournemouth last week but they never really looked like conceding today other than a few Barry chances in the first half. You can look at the defence but I’d be looking at Moises Caicedo who has elevated this teams level massively since coming back last week and alongside Jordan Henderson who has looked to have been a shrewd signing by Chelsea over the summer, the defence just looks so much more comfortable with those two in front of them which is why it’s all the more important that they stay fit this season. I was really impressed with Chelsea’s full-backs today with Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato putting in their best performances of the season so far which played a massive part in the clean sheet, Acheampong in particular has to get huge credit keeping Jack Grealish quiet for the majority of the game which isn’t easy. The attack didn’t have their greatest game today but up steps Pedro Neto who has looked a player reborn under Alonso and has looked a real threat on the right whether that’s at wing-back or right-wing, Alonso has profiled him perfectly and it’s showing so far this season. Emi Martinez will be a big miss if he is to be out for a long time but Mike Penders looked really comfortable in the net when he came on so I’m looking forward to seeing more from the Belgian over the next few weeks or months. Overall I don’t think Alonso could have asked for much more today and he’ll be so pleased with a clean sheet away from home, a perfect game before playing Spurs at Stamford Bridge next week.

3. Everton’s lack of attacking threat on full show today. It was a strange performance from Everton today as towards the end of the first half they were probably the better team and created a couple of pretty good chances but you just can’t rely on Thierno Barry to consistently take his chances and we saw that today, when you have Merlin Rohl on the right-wing you might as well be playing with 10-men and I don’t care if that sounds harsh but he literally offers Everton nothing in attack and that let Hato burst forward at every opportunity which led to the first goal. Even in midfield today I thought Everton were poor with Garner and Armstrong looking quite a bit off the pace along with Norgaard when he came on who might just be the slowest player in the entire league, the summer window was a complete disaster for Everton and I think we saw why today as they just don’t have the options off the bench to change the game when the likes of Barry, Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall etc are having a bad game. Even defensively today I thought they were poor with Maitland-Niles getting burned down the right by Hato for the opening goal, the second goal was a complete mess from the free-kick but there were times when they were wide open at the back which you rarely see from this Everton side. Overall I think this game would have been a real eye-opener for Everton fans about the reality this season and were their team is at, I don’t think this team will be pushing for Europe this season.

4. What are Chelsea’s ambitions for this season? I said it before this season but I really do like the look of this Chelsea team so far this year, obviously City have been perfect so far this season but considering there is a real possibility that they will be deducted points that only really leaves Arsenal and Chelsea fighting for the league this season potentially? I don’t think Arsenal have looked spectacular by any means so far this season and with Chelsea playing only one game a week I don’t see any reason why they can’t at least challenge Arteta’s side for the title this year, Caicedo’s fitness obviously determines the levels this team hits but with the best attack in the league we’ve already seen that Chelsea can just outscore opponents if their defence isn’t functioning. Xabi Alonso is a top manager and I wouldn’t bet against him making a good run at the title this season if certain pieces fall into place like Cities point deduction and avoiding injuries, what do you think am I going too far or can Chelsea make a run at the league this season?

5. What’s up next for these two sides? Both teams aren’t in Europe this season so they’ll be back in action next weekend with Chelsea returning to Stamford Bridge to face Spurs in a London derby before heading to Anfield after in the Carabao Cup to face Liverpool, Everton take a trip to the Emirates next Saturday before facing Newcastle in the Carabao Cup in the midweek. There’s still plenty of football ahead of us this weekend and I’ll have Real Betis vs Barcelona up later on before Leeds vs Man United and Nottingham Forest tomorrow, there might also be a Serie A game but no promises. Have a good one. ‍