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Chelsea continued their unbeaten start to life under Thomas Tuchel, as a comfortable 2-0 league win at home against Everton made it 11 games without defeat under their new manager.
The result ensured that the Blues tightened their grip on fourth place in the 2020-21 Premier League standings.
After a cagey opening half an hour, Chelsea took the lead via an unfortunate own goal. Ben Godfrey got the decisive touch on Kai Havertz’s flick-on from Marcos Alonso’s cross, leaving Jordan Pickford stranded in the Everton net.
Even though their own forward play lacked a cutting edge, Chelsea were deserving of their half-time lead after dominating possession and nullifying Everton’s attacking threat.
The home side kept up the pressure in the second half and were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty in the 64th minute after Pickford upended Havertz in the box; Jorginho duly dispatched the resultant spot-kick to make it 2-0 for Chelsea.
Even after doubling their advantage, it was Chelsea who looked likely to score again, as the visitors struggled to create much in attack in the face of an efficient and hard-working Blues defence.
Chelsea eventually wrapped up the 2-0 win with relative ease, increasing their gap over fifth-placed Everton to four points and racking up yet another clean sheet under Tuchel.
On that note, let’s take a look at the five major talking points from the game.
#1 Thomas Tuchel continues his heavy rotation policy at Chelsea
One of the characteristic features of Thomas Tuchel’s short reign at Chelsea has been his penchant for squad rotation, as he looks to manage workloads and learn more about his players at the same time.
Fresh from a win over Everton’s Merseyside rivals Liverpool, Tuchel once again rang in the changes, making five alterations to his Chelsea side that won at Anfield.
In the opposite dugout, former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has had a much longer time with his Everton squad, was content with just two alterations from the team that beat West Brom last time out.
Ultimately, it was Tuchel’s policy of heavy rotation that won out, as his side outworked the opposition in key areas to seal a vital win.
#2 Everton’s Stamford Bridge hoodoo continues
Stamford Bridge has not been a happy hunting ground for Everton in the Premier League over the years, with the Toffees’ last win at the ground coming more than 25 years ago.
Interestingly, the reverse fixture has favoured Everton much more, with their 1-0 win over Chelsea in December being their third consecutive win over the London outfit on their home turf.
As a result, Ancelotti would have been hoping for more of their home form rather than their away form in this clash as his side went up against the history books as well as Tuchel’s well-drilled Chelsea side. But Everton left London disappointed once again.
#3 Chelsea’s resolute defence shines again
Chelsea were unbeaten in ten games they had played under Thomas Tuchel going into their clash with Everton. Impressively, they had managed to keep clean sheets in eight of those games as the German manager has overseen an impressive defensive overhaul at the club.
Tuchel’s decision to switch to a back three and play with wingbacks seems to have had a positive impact on his side’s defensive performances, as Chelsea are yet to concede a goal at Stamford Bridge under his tutelage.
Interestingly, their opponents on the night also came into the game boasting an in-from defence, matching Chelsea’s three straight clean sheets with three consecutive shut-outs of their own.
However, it was Tuchel’s Chelsea who came out on top on the night, not just by keeping the Everton attack at bay but also finding a way past the stingy opposition defence with excellent attacking play of their own.
#4 Everton struggle for goals continues
The 2020-21 Premier League campaign started with a flurry of goals for Everton and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in particular, as the centre-forward’s goals propelled the Toffees to the top of the league table in the opening few weeks.
However, Calvert-Lewin has been unable to keep up his attacking output consistently over the course of the season, which has, in turn, resulted in Everton slowly dropping down the league standings.
Even though Richarlison has taken up the goal-scoring responsibilities in recent times, a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty is Everton’s only league goal not scored by the Brazilian since the first week of February.
The regular absence due to injury of James Rodriguez has had an impact on Everton going forward. But Carlo Ancelotti will hope for the rest of his squad to step up and contribute with goals if the Toffees are to finish the season on a high.
#5 Chelsea move into the Champions League places
Even though the Premier League’s most eye-catching action is traditionally reserved for consumption over the weekend, this Monday night fixture saw fourth meet fifth with a potential Champions League spot up for grabs.
While Tuchel has overseen Chelsea’s rise to fourth in the table since his arrival, Ancelotti has presided over a similarly successful campaign for Everton and has seen his side in genuine contention to play European football next season.
And, with Liverpool losing and West Ham yet to play, this was a great opportunity for either side to stake a claim for a top-four spot. In fact, Everton, who still have a game in hand over those closest to them in the table, could have leapfrogged Chelsea into fourth with a win.
However, it was the London outfit that emerged victorious on the night, opening up a four-point gap over the Toffees with a win ahead of West Ham’s clash with Leeds later on in the day.
