Chelsea secured a 2–0 victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to end their recent winless run in the Premier League and climb back into the top four.
The opening stages of the contest were cagey, with both sides struggling to impose themselves. Everton showed early attacking intent through Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish, but their momentum was disrupted when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was forced off with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea capitalised soon after, with Cole Palmer marking his return to the starting lineup by opening the scoring. The midfielder latched onto a well-weighted pass from Malo Gusto before calmly finishing past Jordan Pickford for his second goal of the season.
Alejandro Garnacho missed a golden opportunity to double Chelsea’s lead moments later after being gifted possession, while Everton threatened an equaliser through Grealish and Abdoulaye Doucouré before the break.
Chelsea extended their advantage in stoppage time at the end of the first half following a swift counter-attack. Goalkeeper Robert Sánchez released Gusto, who found Pedro Neto out wide before continuing his run to convert the return pass at the near post.
Garnacho had further chances to put the game beyond doubt early in the second half but failed to convert, while Everton continued to push for a way back into the contest. Grealish came closest for the visitors, firing wide from a promising position midway through the half.
Late drama saw Ndiaye strike the post and Trevoh Chalobah make a crucial block to deny Carlos Alcaraz, but Chelsea held firm to preserve the clean sheet.
The win marked Chelsea’s first league victory in four matches and lifted them to fourth place in the table, pending other results. Attention now turns to Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final clash away to Cardiff City.
