Chelsea have returned from the international break with an authority that augurs well for Xabi Alonso. Two goals from Pedro Neto condemned Everton to a first defeat of the season as the visitors climbed to fourth on the back of their first Premier League clean sheet since January. A head injury sustained by Emi Martínez, who was carried off on a stretcher after seven minutes of treatment, was the only concern from a mature display in the Merseyside sunshine for Alonso’s team.
There were goalkeeping problems at both ends, with Jordan Pickford unconvincing for the second week in succession as David Moyes’ side suffered self-inflicted wounds. But Everton could have no complaints about the merits of Chelsea’s victory given their contrasting performances in the second half. There was more needle than quality on display in a first half that Everton edged and they could question why they were still facing 11 men by half-time.
Morgan Rogers risked a second yellow card when leaping into a challenge with James Garner shortly before the break. The Chelsea forward caught the ball and the man but, beyond both players feeling the impact of the 50-50, there was no further punishment from Paul Tierney. Rogers’s tackle was just as reckless as the one that brought an earlier booking for Harrison Armstrong, one of five yellows shown in a half that owed its entertainment to the animosity between the teams.
The hosts’ grievance deepened when Rogers played a part in Neto’s breakthrough moments after the restart. Having denied Chelsea their customary early goal – with Pickford saving from Cole Palmer and Jarrad Branthwaite blocking a goal-bound Jordan Henderson effort – Everton acquitted themselves well in the first half. They should have taken the lead from a corner awarded after Martínez was penalised for holding the ball too long.
Garner’s initial delivery was poor, in keeping with Everton’s crossing for much of the game, but Jack Grealish supplied an inch-perfect cross at the second attempt for Thierno Barry. The unmarked Everton striker steered a tame header straight at Martínez from close range and the centre of the goal. Another big miss from Barry was one of several recurring themes that undermined Everton’s efforts.
The Chelsea keeper tipped over a Grealish volley as the home side maintained the pressure and also saved comfortably from Barry’s difficult attempt inside the box. The visitors began to turn the tide as the interval approached and were inches away from taking the lead in spectacular fashion. Moisés Caicedo pulled away to the back post for a Henderson corner that arrived exactly where the training ground routine required.
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