Jorginho’s penalty helped Chelsea overcome a rocky preseason to defeat Everton 1-0 on Saturday to kick off their Premier League campaign.
After a demanding tour of the United States, which featured a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Arsenal, left his squad exhausted, Blues manager Thomas Tuchel issued a warning last week that Chelsea was “not ready” for the new season.
Off the field, though, a new era at Stamford Bridge is gaining momentum with the recent additions of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, and Carney Chukwuemeka.
Despite a mediocre performance, Chelsea broke a run of four straight losses at Goodison Park thanks to the debuts of Sterling, Koulibaly, and Cucurella.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, an English striker, suffered an injury this week that will keep him out for the first six weeks of the season, shattering Everton’s preseason plans.
Early on, Ben Godfrey was stretchered off after getting hurt during a challenge with Kai Havertz, dealing the Toffees with yet another injury blow.
Everton, who narrowly avoided being relegated last season, is expected to struggle once more.
However, they may have easily gained at least one point from competitive performance.
James Tarkowski nearly put Everton ahead on his debut, but Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy produced a great save.
The offside flag also prevented Sterling from scoring on his debut as he rushed in after Mason Mount’s shot was fumbled by Jordan Pickford.
In the eighth minute of extra time due to the extended halt for Godfrey’s injury, Everton’s hard work before the break was undone.
Abdoulaye Doucoure tripped Ben Chilwell in the box, and unlike in the Euro 2020 championship game, Jorginho scored the game-winning goal from the penalty spot.
After the half, Everton made a valiant effort to equalize, but their attack was lackluster without Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin.
Mendy once more came to Chelsea’s aid with crucial stops to divert Demarai Gray’s attempt wide and save Doucoure’s potent strike from close range.
At the opposite end, Vitaliy Mykolenko upset Sterling by deflecting his goal-bound shot just inches wide.
But Chelsea just needed one goal to end a five-year winless streak against Everton on the road.
