Chelsea have begun their Premier League campaign with a win.
Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners away to Everton on Saturday evening, as Thomas Tuchel’s haphazard pre-season preparations failed to sufficiently derail his side on the opening day.
Jorginho’s first-half penalty proved to be the difference between the two side’s, after Ben Chilwell was felled in the penalty area by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
However, when speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Jamie Redknapp suggested the Blues are still lacking a cutting edge up front.
“They have lost there in the past, but to get that win today is so important for them…”
The win also brought an end to Chelsea’s dismal recent run at Goodison Park, a ground that has caused plenty of issues for the Blues over the last number of years,
“Duncan [Ferguson] mentioned Everton not having a number nine, and Chelsea did not have that fluidity either,” he said after the game. “[Raheem] Sterling played up there and it didn’t quite work.
“However, I thought he looked really sharp and dangerous. But sometimes you need that focal point up front. Calvert-Lewin might have made that difference for Everton.
“[Armando] Broja came on for Chelsea, and they weren’t quite as fluid as you would like. But that might be the case for three or four weeks. You have players still to come into the team and you have a back three that haven’t really played together too much.
No mistake! 💥
Jorginho sends Pickford the wrong way just before the break! pic.twitter.com/sWWn3kSEmi
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 6, 2022
“Thomas Tuchel, without thinking if his team played well or not, will be thinking that it is three points. That was the main objective for them today, and this is not an easy place to come.
“They have lost there in the past, but to get that win today is so important for them.”
An opening day defeat for Everton.
Chelsea in fact started the game quite slowly, but grew into the contest as the first-half wore on at Goodison Park.
Prior to Jorginho’s penalty, Ben Godfrey sustained a serious lower leg injury when attempting to deny Kai Havertz who was bearing down on goal at the time.
And while he won the ball, he won the ball at the cost of a potentially damaging injury to himself.
But for Everton, the performance is a solid base to work off of as they look to avoid a similarly disastrous 2021/22 Premier League season, that saw them teeter on the brink of relegation to the Championship.
