Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 in their first game of the 2022/23 Premier League season but on this showing the team’s general performance will need to be upped. Three points were the most important thing though, on a ground where they have lost in their last four visits.
It looks like they will improve over time once the new signings are bedded in fully and there is an improvement in general match sharpness/fitness.
The blues lined up in their familiar 3-4-2-1 shape. Ben Chilwell was given a start at left wing back after a long injury lay off after tearing his ACL against Juventus last November. New signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling also started with Marc Cucurella on the bench. Everton seemed to match up with Anthony Gordon in the most advanced attacking role as they lacked any specialist strikers. Dominic Calvert-Lewin had an injury, Rondon was suspended and Richarlison of course has moved to Tottenham
Sterling and Koulibaly played well on their Premier League debuts. Koulibaly came off late on, but Thomas Tuchel later confirmed it was due to cramp and not any serious injury.
Chelsea did dominate possession with 63% and had numerous corners (16) which proved to be mostly unproductive. The team may need to get back to the training ground to work on those.
Chilwell was still not fully fit but contributed by winning the penalty for what proved to be the crucial goal scored by Jorginho. He played well in his first competitive start after a long injury lay-off. Another new signing in Marc Cucurella also looked good in a cameo.
Some of the substitutions made and positions taken were a bit surprising. For example, putting Reece James on the left for Ben Chilwell. Armando Broja also played on the left rather than centrally.
Havertz and Mount did not have their best games, but you would expect them to improve. The attack in general looked a bit blunt and it is difficult right now to see the team scoring a lot of goals. They may need another striker, especially to compete at the very top of the league. This may be even more important with the departure of Timo Werner looking more likely.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel evaluated the game with the following comments. He was happy with the result but saw room for a step up in performance.
“A win is a win and of course it's very important to build now confidence, to build up belief, to build up an atmosphere,’ began Tuchel’s assessment of the game, ‘but also, we must be open for improvement, open for criticism, because there are a lot of things to improve.
But there are also good things to take away. Chelsea have struggled to take the points here in the last seasons and we got all three with the clean sheet." (Via Chelsea FC)
Some stats from players and overall:
· N'Golo Kanté won the most duels (8) in the match and completed the most dribbles (4), level with Raheem Sterling.
· Chelsea’s three central defenders - Azpilicueta, Silva and Koulibaly had a combined age of 100.
· Thiago Silva had the most clearances (4), most interceptions (4), most passes completed (67), most accurate long balls (6/11), joint most aerial duels won with Kalidou Koulibaly (3).
· Kalidou Koulibaly had an impressive game defensively and in possession, completing 50/58 passes.
· Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy kept another clean sheet to take his tally to 31 in the Premier League. He has a clean sheet percentage of 47%. Only Ederson has a higher clean sheet ratio among keepers to have started at least 50 games. (Via Opta)
The team will have to improve to beat a Spurs side next week who will be buoyed by their 4-1 win against Southampton in their opening game. The chances given up to Everton at times yesterday may be snapped up by a better Spurs forward line if the defence switches off.
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