Everton 0-1 Chelsea: Jorginho’s penalty sets Chelsea on road to victory at Goodison Park

Chelsea opened the Premier League season by defeating Everton as Jorginho converted a penalty kick at Goodison Park.

Everton, without a recognized striker after selling Richarlison and injuring Dominic Calvert-Lewin, fought bravely but lacked quality and threat in attack.

Coach Frank Lampard’s case was unaffected by an early serious injury to defender Ben Godfrey, who was dislodged on a stretcher after a challenge on Kai Havertz, with Yerry Mina injured again in the second half.

Chelsea survived in relative comfort and was able to make his debut for new deal Marc Cucurella, the defender signed from Brighton in a deal that could eventually be worth £62m, making them a successful start.

Chelsea won their first

Chelsea have never needed to touch the heights to beat Everton, but coach Tuchel will still be happy to start the season simply with a win after a turbulent summer.

Raheem Sterling showed in flashes what he was going to achieve as powerful defender Koulibaly carved his way into the Premier League against the sharp machine that was Everton’s attack.

Chelsea didn’t cause Everton many serious problems but this match effectively ended as a competition because the visiting defense had a lot of knowledge and the home team lacked intelligence.

Cucurella’s debut was only notable due to a yellow card after kicking the ball away in the last moments as Chelsea ran the clock against an increasingly frustrated Everton.

Chelsea will be looking to bring in more new faces before the transfer window is over and have been linked with a string of names – although this remains a very strong side.

It’s all about the score on opening day and achieving it by any means possible, a task that Chelsea has accomplished with so many things.

Everton is a light striker

Everton weren’t lacking in effort or effort in their Premier League opener, but they looked exactly the same when the season started in defeat – a team without an acknowledged striker.

They held themselves hostage to fortune after failing to replace Richarlison after his £60m move to Tottenham and paid the price when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury he sustained in his training days before the campaign began.

It was a brutally exposed flaw as head coach Lampard had to hand Anthony Gordon an unfamiliar task up front, as he predictably struggled against the experience of Koulibaly and Thiago Silva, Chelsea’s summer signing.

Lampard must address this as a matter of urgency while also focusing on bringing in other new faces.

Lille’s £33m midfielder Amadou Onana arrived in the managers’ area to standing ovation in the first half before completing his transfer while talks are still underway to complete the return of Paris Saint-Germain’s Idrissa Guy to Goodison Park.

The pursuit of Wolverhampton defender Conor Cody could intensify after Godfrey and Mina were injured – but the need for a striker was evident with each passing minute in this disappointing defeat.

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