Chelsea’s week needed a reset button. At Stamford Bridge, they pressed it with the right boot of Cole Palmer and the relentless running of Malo Gusto.
After a run that had blurred into frustration, noise and raised eyebrows, Enzo Maresca’s side returned to the basics that have underpinned their best spells this season: control without panic, tempo without chaos, and a ruthless streak that had gone missing at the wrong time. Everton arrived in form and with intent, but Chelsea left with the points, a clean sheet, and a reminder that top-four credentials are still in their own hands.
The scoreline was built in one decisive first-half spell. The performance, however, was built on something more useful for the weeks ahead: calm.
Everton started as the sharper blade. They weren’t content to drop off and admire Stamford Bridge from a distance. Chelsea were asked questions early, particularly around set-plays and second balls, and there was a moment when it felt like the afternoon might drift into another anxious episode of “nearly, but not quite”.
James Tarkowski glanced a header wide, and Jack Grealish forced Robert Sánchez into action from a tight angle, the sort of chance that can turn a home crowd edgy if it’s converted. Chelsea, though, didn’t buckle. They absorbed the opening surge, kept their shape, and waited for the game to reveal the space it always reveals when you stay patient.
Then came the instant reminder of what Palmer gives them.
For all the talk of systems and structures, some players simply change the temperature of a match. Palmer has that effect. Back in the starting XI at home for the first time in almost four months, and carefully managed after recent fitness issues, he played like someone determined to make up for lost time.
On 21 minutes, the breakthrough was swift and surgical. Gusto stepped inside and threaded an incisive pass that split Everton open. Palmer timed his run perfectly and finished powerfully past Jordan Pickford. It was the sort of goal Chelsea have lacked during their wobble: one chance, one action, one clean outcome.
The Bridge responded the way it always does when it senses a turning tide, volume rising not just for the goal but for what it represented. After recent stutters, here was the talisman back, and here was a lead that looked like it might settle nerves rather than inflame them.
From there, Chelsea grew into the contest. They began to dictate the speed of Everton’s decisions and, crucially, began to hurt them when the visitors committed numbers forward. Pedro Neto, lively and direct, repeatedly offered the out-ball, and Palmer’s movement between the lines pulled Everton’s midfield into awkward shapes.
The second goal was a perfect snapshot of Chelsea’s afternoon: efficient, fast, and finished with conviction.
Just before half-time, Neto broke with purpose and delivered low into the danger area. Gusto, already the provider, arrived to score, turning a right-back’s energy into a forward’s finish. Two goals, one assist, and a reminder that Chelsea’s right flank can be one of the league’s most productive outlets when it’s humming.
At 2-0, the match changed complexion. Everton still carried threat and they still had moments, but Chelsea now had the scoreboard to match their increasing grip. The second half became an exercise in management: deny Everton hope, pick the moments to accelerate, and avoid the kind of self-inflicted drama that has crept into their game during this choppy spell.
Maresca’s handling of Palmer underlined that practical, no-nonsense approach. With Palmer’s work done, he was withdrawn just before the hour mark, Chelsea prioritising the bigger picture as much as the 90 minutes.
That didn’t mean the contest became comfortable. Everton had the chances to make it uncomfortable.
Grealish, in particular, had a golden opening to pull one back, sliding an effort across goal and wide. Later, Iliman Ndiaye struck the post with Sánchez beaten, the sort of moment that briefly freezes a stadium, everyone waiting to hear whether the sound is woodwork or net.
But if recent weeks have been punctured by moments of fragility, Chelsea’s response here was composed. They defended the box with greater authority, dealt with Everton’s late pressure, and kept enough control of the ball to stop the match from becoming a pure siege.
There was even time for Chelsea to threaten again: Reece James tested Pickford with a free-kick, and Chelsea’s forward runners continued to force Everton to sprint backwards rather than simply build forward.
At full-time, the key numbers all pointed the same way. Chelsea had been the more productive side overall, creating the clearer volume of opportunities, and converting the moments that mattered. Against an Everton team who arrived believing they could leave west London with something, that clinical edge was the difference.
For Maresca, it was also a result that arrived with timing almost as important as its content. This was a “stop the slide” afternoon, a win that steadies the table and steadies the mood, bringing Chelsea back into the Premier League’s top four and reminding the chasing pack that Stamford Bridge can still be a hard place to take anything from when Chelsea are switched on.
It didn’t solve everything in one afternoon. It rarely does. But it felt like the return of something familiar: Chelsea winning at home with authority, and doing it with a balance of talent and discipline.
After the week they’ve had, that was exactly what was required.
