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Everton 0-1 Chelsea: Blues victorious at Goodison Park on opening day

Everton 0-1 Chelsea: Blues victorious at Goodison Park on opening day

Chelsea won at Goodison Park for the first time since 2017.

Chelsea have won their opening match of the Premier League season thanks to their 1-0 victory away at Everton.

Jorginho was on hand to score the only goal of the game from the spot after Ben Chilwell was fouled in the area during stoppage time at the end of the first half.

Everton threatened the Blues on numerous occasions but they were denied by their opponents' defence each time.

Both halves experienced lengthy amounts of stoppage time, but the match soon came to and end and Chelsea took home the three points.

It is a strong start for Thomas Tuchel's side, who had a mixed set of results during their pre-season schedule.

New signings have been made and more are set to come, with their first match at Stamford Bridge next weekend seeing them face London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.


Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly both made their competitive debuts for the club, with new signing Marc Cucurella being named on the bench.

At a ground where the Blues have had such little success in recent seasons it was Everton who started the brighter side, but Kai Havertz had the game's first shot on target, with the German's header being saved by Jordan Pickford.

Havertz soon got onto a wayward pass from the Toffees 'keeper but was unable to create a chance in the area.

Ben Godfrey was the one who made the challenge but he was injured in the process, and was eventually stretchered off and replaced by Mason Holgate.

Pickford was called into action again for the hosts, this time saving from Mason Mount's low drive from the edge of the area.

Up the other end soon after, Koulibaly did well to clear Demarai Gray's cross.

Sterling's first real involvement saw him fight off the challenge of a number of Everton defenders inside the area and despite going, the referee blew for a free-kick the other way.

Edouard Mendy then made a great save tip James Tarkowski's header over the bar as Chelsea continued to face the pressure.

The Blues were able to get away on the counter on the half hour mark and Sterling was fouled near the box, but Alex Iwobi was not shown a yellow card for his challenge.

Throughout the first half, Chelsea were winning multiple corners but failed to create any real chances from the set pieces.

Thiago Silva was required to step in and prevent Everton from advancing with their counter attack, just before Sterling thought he had scored his first goal in Chelsea colours, only for it to be ruled out for offside.

Koulibaly was on hand once again to stop the Toffees in their tracks, this time doing really well to tackle Anthony Gordon who was advancing towards goal.

Kalidou Koulibaly on his Chelsea debut against Everton. (Chelsea FC)
Kalidou Koulibaly on his Chelsea debut against Everton. (Chelsea FC)

After the injury to Godfrey earlier in the match, a hefty eight minutes of added time were added at the end of the first half.

The Blues were continuing to win corners but faced the same result each time, with Koulibaly's header being the closest they came to scoring from the set-pieces.

Chelsea were awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time after Chilwell was brought down in the area after Koulibaly's neat through ball.

Jorginho stepped up to take it and sent Pickford the wrong way, with that being the final chance of the half.

At the start of the second half, Silva was unable to deal with Gray's pace and the centre-back had to divert his effort wide of the post.

Mendy pulled off another great save to deny the Toffees once again, this time preventing Abdoulaye Doucoure from finding the back of the net.

Another corner was soon awarded to the Blues, but still they couldn't make the most of the chance from the set piece.

Everton maintained their pressure on the visitors, but Tuchel's side did well to sustain it.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on for Chilwell and operated at right wing-back for the rest of the half, with Reece James switching to the opposite side.

Christian Pulisic was also brought on, this time for Mount.

As it headed into the final 20 minutes, the game became very stop-start, with Everton suffering another injury blow and having to use another substitution.

They countered again against the Blues, but Dele Alli could not convert the chance inside the area and under the pressure of Chelsea defenders.

Kalidou Koulibaly for Chelsea. (Alamy)
Kalidou Koulibaly for Chelsea. (Alamy)

Tuchel soon handed a debut to Cucurella as Koulibaly went off with cramp, and Armando Broja replaced Havertz.

Loftus-Cheek was played through by Sterling who showed good strength to hold off his man, and the former was fouled on the edge of the area, however James fired the free-kick over the bar.

Sterling came very close once again to scoring his first goal as Cucurella sent a teasing ball into the area towards his new teammate, but his effort was blocked by the defender.

Chelsea's new left wing-back crossed in a good corner towards the end of the match, but Pulisic could only hit it high and over the bar.

The full-time whistle soon came and Chelsea took home the three points, as well as victory at Goodison Park for the first time since 2017.

Featured Image Credit: Chelsea FC

Topics:ย Chelsea, Everton, Premier League, Football