Chelsea 2-0 Everton: Unbeaten Thomas Tuchel tightens top-four grip

Chelsea consolidated fourth spot in the Premier League as Thomas Tuchel's unbeaten start to life at Stamford Bridge continued with a 2-0 victory over Everton.

In a crucial contest in the race for Champions League qualification, Kai Havertz made decisive contributions in either half as Chelsea proved a cut above their resurgent top-four rivals.

Havertz had a hand in Chelsea's opener when his 31st-minute strike deflected in off Everton defender Ben Godfrey, and the German won the second-half penalty off Jordan Pickford which handed Jorginho the opportunity to double the hosts' lead from the spot.

Tuchel's eighth victory as Chelsea manager extends his unbeaten start to 11 games and sees the Blues open up a four-point lead over fifth-placed Everton, who saw their three-game winning run end with a whimper in the capital.

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Toffees unable to halt Tuchel transformation

Chelsea came out strong but Everton stood firm in the face of sustained pressure, limiting the hosts to just a single attempt in the opening quarter of an hour, with Jorginho whistling a volley inches wide after a corner was cleared to him on the edge of the box.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Havertz steadily grew into the game and were involved as Chelsea made the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark.

Hudson-Odoi span brilliantly away from Mason Holgate and Andre Gomes in midfield before releasing Marcos Alonso away down the left, and the Spaniard's driven cross was turned towards goal by Havertz before hitting the bottom corner after a wicked deflection off Godfrey left Joran Pickford with no chance of saving.

Pickford was called upon moments later and rose to the challenge as he adjusted his footwork superbly to tip Alonso's deflected shot around the post and prevent Chelsea from doubling their lead before the break.

Havertz had the ball in the Everton net for a second time shortly after the restart when he lashed a shot past Pickford after bringing Hudson-Odoi's floated ball down, but he was adjudged to have handled the ball and he was denied a goal again.

Everton best chance to get back into the game passed Richarlison by on 57 minutes when he shanked woefully wide after being played through on goal by Gylfi Sigurdsson.

And Chelsea soon had their second, with Havertz involved again. The German burst onto Mateo Kovacic's through pass and skipped around Pickford being being tripped by the Toffees stopper.

Up stepped Jorginho with his trademark hop, skip and jump to double Chelsea's advantage and tighten their grip on a top-four spot.

What the managers said…

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel: "We deserved to win. It was a very difficult first half, but we controlled it completely. Second half we increased our level and had a lot of dangerous attacks.

"You see the quality of the players and the club. It is a pleasure to be on the sideline and work with the team. Everybody in the club is doing everything to compete at this level."

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti: "We have to be honest; we are not at the same level. We cannot play an open game against this kind of team.

"It was the plan to play the same way as we played against Liverpool, but against Liverpool we scored early.

"We are looking to fight for Europe. This is good for us. We will be there until the last game. We are disappointed for this defeat but no tragedy. We look to the next game."

Chelsea continue Everton dominance - Match stats

• Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 26 Premier League home games against Everton (W15 D11). Only against Spurs have the Blues had a longer unbeaten home run in top-flight history (27 between 1990-2016).
• Only against Leeds (35 between 1946-2001) have Everton had a longer winless away run in the top-flight than they have at Chelsea, with the Toffees winless in 26 visits to Stamford Bridge since a 1-0 win in November 1994.
• Only Maurizio Sarri (12 with Chelsea in 2018-19) and Frank Clark (11 with Nottingham Forest in 1994-95) have begun their Premier League managerial careers with a longer unbeaten run than Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel (currently P9 W6 D3).
• Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has become the first manager in Premier League history to see his side keep a clean sheet in each of his first five home games in charge in the competition, while the Blues have kept five consecutive home league clean sheets for the first time since January 2015.
• Everton have scored 53 own goals in the Premier League, seven more than any other side in the competition's history.

Man of the Match - Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz has yet to make his mark since arriving at Chelsea but this performance served as a first example of the match-winning qualities he has in abundance.

Eyebrows were raised when Tuchel made five changes from the win at Anfield, one of which saw Havertz replace the in-form Mason Mount, but the decision was vindicated by the German responsible for the game's two decisive moments.

On another day Havertz would have had two goals to show for his performance but Godfrey's own goal and VAR did little to detract from his first-class contribution.

What's next?

Live Premier League

Chelsea travel to Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday at 12.30pm, before Everton host Burnley on Saturday Night Football at 5.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League.

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