HE’S GOT IT New-look Blues show Tuchel BY JORG
ACCORDING to Thomas Tuchel, this is a period of transition as he reshapes his Chelsea side after a summer of frenetic transfer activity.
Yet if that was a way of dampening expectation in a season where he knows last season’s top two will still present a formidable barrier to Premier League success, then this result hardly helps.
Put simply, they won on a ground where they often stumble, as last season’s embarrassing example where they wilted feebly in a fierce atmosphere showed painfully.
In truth, it was an unconvincing performance and victory, with his disjointed team rarely even troubling an energetic Everton side who remained firmly in the contest despite being hit by an early – and serious – injury to Ben Godfrey.
But a penalty on the stroke of half time from Jorginho, in the period added for the lengthy delay as Godfrey’s horrific ankle injury was treated, was enough to deliver the points.
Kalidou Koulibaly slotted straight into the defence, calming fears that Chelsea would suffer from the painful loss of Antonio Rudiger, and Marc Cucurella also looked good when he appeared as a second-half substitute.
The win cannot be understated. Already, this is a crucial period for
Tuchel (right) and the London club.
Normally the
Premier League allows teams time to bed down new players and feel their way into a new campaign.
But there is nothing normal about this league any more. Drop off the pace at the summit, even a little, and the chances are you will not see even the coat-tails of Manchester City or Liverpool any more.
New boy Raheem Sterling worked hard enough, but didn’t appear to be on the same wavelength as his new colleagues, and the attack was disjointed as a consequence, while the midfield struggled at times to contain Everton.
Had Dominic Calvertlewin not been struck by injury yet again, you suspect he would have converted a couple of
heading chances that the Blues wing-back Vitaliy Mykolenko carved out for their makeshift striker Anthony Gordon.
Even as the visitors took more control in the second half, there were chances for Abdoulaye Doucoure and Mykolenko, and sub Dele Alli missed what seemed a sitter when Nathan Patterson put him in, but he got his legs in a tangle.
At the other end, Chelsea struggled to unduly trouble the Everton defence themselves, yet it is goals that count, and the crucial moment arrived in the eight minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half. It was a soft moment in truth. Ben Chilwell burst into the box, and then slowed cleverly as Doucoure charged at the back of him, referee Craig Pawson deciding there was enough contact to justify the spot kick, which Jorginho converted.
All that though, was overshadowed by the injury to Godfrey, which looks a long-term one. The tragedy, is that the injury was so unnecessary, as the ball was actually out of play, despite Jordan Pickford’s best efforts to keep it in.
It was the Everton defender’s own backpass which had his keeper stretching desperately, and Pickford – with the ball a yard over the line – succeeded only in steering possession straight to Havertz.
But the assistant referee failed to raise his flag and Godfrey, atoning for the mistake, dived in with a crunching recovery tackle.
After prolonged treatment, the defender was taken directly to an ambulance waiting at the Goodison exit.
Everton’s response immediately afterwards showed resolve.
That produced some real concerns for Chelsea, and yet they stood strong, even at the end as they came under sustained pressure.