Monday, March 8, 2021 at 8:52 PM• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 21:03

Chelsea booked a business victory in the Premier League on Monday evening. At Stamford Bridge, there was no cloud in the air against Everton, who was eventually beaten 2-0. Put with that the Blues the unbeaten series under the reign of manager Thomas Tuchel continues: eight wins and three draws have been achieved since his appointment. Hakim Ziyech had no role to play: the former Ajax player remained on the bench for the entire match.

Tuchel’s team took control from the first whistle, although the field predominance could not be exploited immediately. Chelsea turned out to be efficient, as the first serious opportunity of the game immediately resulted in a hit. After more than half an hour of play, Hudson reached Odoi with a nice through ball to Marcos Alonso, who had a tailor-made cross in store for Kai Havertz: he was able to round off at the height of the five-meter line via the leg of Ben Godfrey, who changed the ball in such a way. that an own goal was recorded on the scoresheet: 1-0.

In the second act, little changed in the game image: the home team kept looking for a new goal; Everton had his hands full on the defensive and could seldom become dangerous to the enemy target. Seven minutes after the break, Havertz thought that his team would take a 2-0 lead, but his goal was, after watching the video images, rejected by referee David Coote: the attacking midfielder had taken the ball with his arm before lashing out. After an hour of play, the lead was doubled.

Again there was a key role for Havertz, who was knocked down in the box by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Chelsea’s foul earned Chelsea a penalty kick, which was used coolly by Jorginho: 2-0. In the final stages, Timo Werner was twice given great opportunities to put his name on the scoreboard, but Pickford was well focused and managed to save both cases. Thanks to the victory, the Londoners, who are fourth with fifty points, increase the gap in the rankings with number five Everton, which still has a match credit, to four points. With that, Chelsea has the coveted fourth place, which entitles them to Champions League participation, so again in their own hands.