Chelsea got their 2022/2023 Premier league campaign underway at Everton this afternoon.
In the most recent meeting between both teams, the Merseyside outfit won 1-0 courtesy a Richarlison goal. With recent record as a proof of how difficult an opponent Everton has been to Chelsea, Tuchel did admit pre-match that playing at the Goodison Park was a tough ground and expected a difficult game for his side.
Tuchel was proved right as the Merseyside outfit started the brighter of both teams, pushing and keeping possession of the ball before the game saw it’s first major event involving Kai Harvertz and Ben Godfrey. The latter sustaining what seemed a terrible injury after a desperately well timed tackle prevented Kai from finding Sterling in the box.
The game resumed after much time was spent treating the injured Ben Godfrey and it took a major intervention from new signing Kalidou Koulibaly who brilliantly found a through ball to set Ben Chilwell free in the penalty area who was roughly tackled from behind by Doucoure to gift Chelsea a late first half penalty which Jorginho tucked away with ease into the bottom left corner.
The second half was more of a tumultuous affair as the fitness levels of the men from London dwindled allowing Everton to feed off from the home crowd’s energetic support. With clear cut chances few and far between, Everton had a few half chances which were either snuffed out by the brilliant Thiago Silva or a composed Mendy in goal.
It finished at Goodison park, Everton 0-1 Chelsea.
Now to what we learned as Chelsea took the victory at a ground where they hadn’t won since 2017 which was the last time they won the premier league, a good omen?
◦ Kante’s Return :
A player that suffered for form and fitness for most part of last season, N’golo has come into this season with the pressure of having to prove doubters wrong. Many fans and pundits have labeled the World Cup winner as a player suffering from “The law of diminishing return”.
Here against Everton, Kante returned to his usual dominant and tireless self wining tackles upon tackles and making valuable interceptions. Kante had a total of 89 touches with a pass accuracy of 87% while bossing the game with the most ball recoveries (12), most duels won (8), and take-one completed (4).
Show casing his all action game, the Frenchman also created 2 chances while having a shot on target although some may find it surprising that Kovacic didn’t start in the midfield.
◦ Koulibaly’s English Football Introduction:
Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly made his debut here at Goodison Park and despite a rather dominating performance by the former Napoli man, he was taught some brutal lessons by Frank Lampard’s men as he was caught out of position a couple of times. On one occasion, the Senegalese embarked on a foray forward and was caught out by a long diagonal ball that found Demarai Gray one-on-one with Thiago Silva, the Brazilian defender doing brilliantly well to shepherd the Everton winger into a tight spot and forcing his strike wide via a deflection.
One thing evident in Koulibaly’s play though was his impressive ball playing skill as he showed his passing range and vision. Kalidou seemed to suffer cramp as the game approached its end and the former Napoli captain can only hope he recovers in time to play in next weekend’s blockbuster London derby against Antonio Conte’s spurs side.
◦ Cucurella’s Audition :
The £55 million pound signing from Brighton made his premier league debut for his new side and the Spaniard didn’t disappoint as he oozed class in his 30 mins debut. The left full back played as the LWB in Tuchel’s favored 3-4-3 formation and brought much needed energy to the blues in a time where most of his teammates seemed drained.
The one-time Barcelona youngster showed brilliant touches and his vision while passing or crossing from the flank certainly caught attention and he could have registered an assist on his debut after brilliantly finding his fellow debutant, Raheem Sterling in the Evertonian box before the England international’s strike was deflected by an Everton defender.
CUCU shall cook!
◦ Sterling shines :
The marquee signing Tuchel craved for, Raheem Sterling made his premier league debut for his new team and if tonight’s performance is anything to go by, Chelsea certainly have got their man.
Raheem Sterling produced a performance reminiscent of Eden Harzard’s Chelsea days dropping deep into pocket of spaces and driving his team forward, beating his markers and wining fouls. The former City man led the team from the front while pressing well when off the ball and his intensity helped set the team’s tempo in the first half when the team pressed well.
Sterling is here to reign!
Man of the Match;
Thiago Silva 9/10
