Nicolas Jackson's first goal in 13 Premier League matches provided a major boost to Chelsea's UEFA Champions League qualification hopes as they beat Everton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
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Jackson fired home from just outside the area in the 27th minute, with this the first of his 24 Premier League goal since joining Chelsea to come from outside the box, as the Blues took advantage of Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa being in FA Cup action this weekend.
Jackson also had a potential second disallowed for offside late on, as Enzo Maresca's hosts claimed back-to-back Premier League wins.
Everton improved when David Moyes made a triple substitution after the hour-mark, with Robert Sanchez making a stunning save to deny Dwight McNeil from their best chance.
The result takes Chelsea fifth, one point behind City and above Forest on goal difference. Everton, meanwhile, stay 13th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
34 | +21 | 62 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
34 | +23 | 61 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
34 | +19 | 60 |
| 6 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
33 | +14 | 60 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
34 | +5 | 57 |
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
34 | +4 | 51 |
How the match unfolded
Chelsea monopolised possession early on but needed 15 minutes to test Jordan Pickford, with the England goalkeeper tipping Noni Madueke's drive around his left post.
Marc Cucurella failed to punish a wayward punch from Pickford when he volleyed wide in the 26th minute, but Chelsea did hit the front 51 seconds later.
After Beto lost possession just inside his own half, Jackson turned on Enzo Fernandez's pass and picked out the bottom-left corner with a wonderful finish from 20 yards out.
In the second half, Nathan Patterson's poor header forced Pickford to block at Jackson's feet, but Everton finally threatened through Beto, who drew a good stop from Sanchez.
The introductions of McNeil, Youssef Chermiti and Ashley Young led to an Everton upturn, though Pickford had to keep them in the contest by denying Madueke for the second time.
Jackson was then flagged offside when tapping home on the rebound from a Cucurella effort, and Everton almost snatched a point through McNeil, only for Sanchez to make a glorious save from his effort in the 87th minute.
Heroes at both ends for Chelsea
Before Saturday, Jackson's most recent goal was the winner in a 2-1 derby victory over Brentford on 15 December, with a lack of fitness and form frustrating him since the turn of the year.
But Maresca has continued to show faith in the Senegal international, insisting upon his return from a hamstring injury that Chelsea are a better team with him leading the line.
That was certainly the case on Saturday. Jackson had plenty to do when receiving Fernandez's pass with his back to goal, but a neat turn set him up for a pinpoint finish beyond Pickford's grasp.
With Cole Palmer struggling for form, it has often felt like Chelsea have missed a focal point in attack. Jackson provided exactly that, linking the play well and leading the Blues' press admirably.
And the Blues had another hero at the other end in the form of Sanchez. Everton felt he was fortunate to escape unpunished from a first-half collision with Vitalii Mykolenko, but his reflex save from McNeil was just as valuable as Jackson's goal.
Arguably tasked with the most challenging run-in of all the top-five contenders, Chelsea knew the importance of a win here. They host Djurgarden in the UEFA Conference League semi-finals next time out, before taking on champions-elect Liverpool on 4 May.
Depleted Everton fall short
Everton suffered a blow this week when James Tarkowski – who had started 111 consecutive Premier League matches dating back to his time with Burnley – was ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
This was the first time the Toffees had to cope without their big centre-back, and Moyes opted to introduce Patterson at right-back and shift Jake O'Brien across.
O'Brien acquitted himself well enough, but Patterson had a more difficult time against the lively Madueke, and if not for some proactive sweeper-keeping from Pickford, his weak header back might have gifted Jackson a second goal early in the second half.
However, it was Beto, the other player brought into Everton's line-up due to Armando Broja being ineligible, that played a part in Chelsea's goal. He took far too long to control Pickford's pass with Trevoh Chalobah in pursuit, and within five seconds, the ball was in the net.
Everton wanted a spot-kick when Sanchez collided with Mykolenko in the 39th minute, but they struggled in attack until the dying stages, when they found Chelsea's goalkeeper in inspired form.
The Toffees will hope to put on more of a show against Ipswich next week.
Club reports
Chelsea report | Everton report
What the managers said
Enzo Maresca: "We said many times we don't have any doubt about players who have struggled at times, like Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Robert Sanchez. It's when we have to support them even more. Hopefully Cole will score soon but his performance today was very good, he sacrificed a lot, he was pressing very well."
David Moyes: "First half we didn't play well. The substitutes made a big difference to us. We stayed in the game and there was a period in the first half where I thought we could've been in trouble. Maybe we should've finished our two chances off but their goalkeeper has made some top saves. When I first came in, in games like this we'd get a goal, but we're struggling to find them at this moment in time."
Remaining PL fixtures
Key facts
Jackson’s goal in the 27th minute was the first that Chelsea have scored in the first half of a Premier League game in seven outings, bringing an end to what was their longest first-half drought in the competition since February - March 2012.
Jackson’s goal was his 10th in the Premier League this season, meaning that Chelsea have had the same two players (also Cole Palmer) score 10+ goals in consecutive league campaigns for the first time since 2009/10 and 2010/11 (Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda).
Chelsea are now unbeaten across their last 30 Premier League games against Everton since a 1-0 loss in November 1994 (W17 D13), the Blues’ longest unbeaten home run against an opponent in their league history.
James Tarkowski failed to start a Premier League game for the first time since joining Everton ahead of the 2022/23 season. The Englishman had started 111 consecutive games in the competition before today (109 for Everton, 2 for Burnley) in a run stretching back to May 2022, bringing an end to the third-longest run of consecutive starts for an outfield player in Premier League history, after Wayne Bridge (113 between 2000-2003) and Frank Lampard (112 between 2002-2005).
