It had so far been a bruising December for Chelsea.
Four games without victory had ensured the sky-high confidence from so ruthlessly putting Barcelona to the sword quickly dissipated, replaced by a pessimism for how closely they are realistically going to push Arsenal and Manchester City this season.
Everton had not beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in any of their last 30 attempts, yet had won four of their last five in the league this season and were on a high under David Moyes.
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More than anything, this sunny afternoon at Stamford Bridge was all about the result.
Chelsea’s performances have dipped of late, but it has been their winless run of four matches that has caused the greater concern among supporters and left Maresca joking in self-deprecating fashion at his Friday press conference after winning November manager of the month that the award may well not be on its way back to him this month. You don’t say, Enzo.
Everton had chances. Plenty. On another day, perhaps they would have left with a result in their back pocket from that performance, but Chelsea scored twice before the break and closed the game out with a professional team effort in a second half dictated by their concerted effort to manage the game.
Palmer back among the goals
When Maresca spoke on Friday about Palmer’s gradual and closely-managed return over the last week or so after more than two months out, he was the bearer of bad news for Chelsea fans. Palmer is in the Reece James camp of not being able to come through three full games in a week, Maresca said, and had been in a “completely bad” way after just 21 minutes off the bench against Leeds. Not particularly encouraging.
Having been spared the trip to Atalanta in midweek, Palmer came through training on Thursday with a “mixed feeling” but was fit to come up against Everton and made his presence known with his third goal of the season and first since September.
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In a cagey game’s first risk-taking off-the-ball run, Palmer told Fofana to play the ball to Gusto, and once the Frenchman had done so he darted off between the lines. Gusto fed into Palmer’s path, where he gave England colleague Jordan Pickford the eyes before slotting coolly past him at his near post.
Out came the ‘Cold Palmer’ celebration Chelsea fans have so dearly missed these past few months, Stamford Bridge’s most enticing entertainer back among the goals.
After 57 minutes of popping up here and there and toying with the Everton defence, he was replaced by Andrey Santos. Chelsea’s approach: take no unnecessary risks.
Gusto’s best performance
It was in the 3-0 win against Wolves just before the November international break that Gusto scored his very first senior goal of his career in his 98th appearance for Chelsea and the 165th match of his senior career.
Not a particularly attacking player, he had one of the games of his life and certainly his most accomplished of the season, scoring and assisting in a lung-busting first half.
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Reece James again filling in for the suspended Moises Caicedo in central midfield, Gusto lined up at right-back, yet it often felt as though it was he who was the right-sided full-back shuttling up and down in midfield, flying into challenges and trying to cut out Everton attacks at source.
He fed a smart through-ball from which Palmer opened the scoring, and then the Frenchman was alive and alert in the box to convert from Pedro Neto’s low delivery to double the lead and cut dead the chanting of the Everton fans in the away end just before the interval.
Gusto’s work ethic never wavered in the second half, either. This was a day when he demonstrated his importance to the whole operation.
