Chelsea player ratings: Jackson shows signs of life at crucial time as Caicedo stars but Palmer again a passenger
ENZO MARESCA watched on from behind me as he served the touchline ban he earned himself vs Fulham – and he’ll be pleased with what he saw as Chelsea stole a 1-0 win at home to Everton.
The game was shocked into life after 26 minutes when good pressure from the home side saw Nicolas Jackson take the ball on the turn and rifle it into the back of Jordan Pickford‘s net, his first goal since returning from injury.
It was by no means easy after they grabbed the opener though, as the Blues dominated possession but failed to add more goals to their tally.
Everton had chances too, and David Moyes‘ side ramped up the pressure as the game went on, calling Robert Sanchez into action on multiple occasions in the second half.
Jackson thought he’d finally given his side a safety net as the game came to a close, but the offside flag denied him his 11th Premier League goal of the season.
Three points puts Chelsea in a good position to battle for the coveted Champions League places now, but they arguably have the hardest run-in of the teams they are competing against.
Here’s how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the Blues against Everton.
Robert Sanchez – 7
Credit where credit is due, Sanchez was a force to be reckoned with today.
In the early stages he looked like the same old shaky Sanchez, coming to claim crosses and then spilling them, opportunities which a more dangerous opposition may have punished.
But as the game went on he made a vital save to deny Beto, was better in terms of his distribution, and by the end of the game looked as though he had glue on his gloves – coming and claiming every cross that came his way.
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Moises Caicedo – 9
Moi has arguably been Chelsea’s player of the season as a combative holding midfielder, but was playing in the inverted fullback role for this game to accommodate Romeo Lavia’s inclusion.
He is in fact so good that he can play there as well as any natural right back that Chelsea have got, with an impeccable work rate, great feet on the ball and an eye for a pass too.
His importance to this side cannot be understated, with the Ecuadorian always in the right place at the right time and able to show up for his side with a level of consistency matched by no other player in the squad.
No one really brings up the price tag Chelsea paid for him anymore, which is testament to just how good he has become.
Trevoh Chalobah – 8
With rumours swirling that Trevoh Chalobah could be expected to depart Chelsea for good this summer, if he is to leave then the Cobham graduate can go with his head held high.
Trev played a vital role in the build up to Jackson’s opener, pressing Beto on the ball and winning it just before the Senegalese forward rifled home.
Levi Colwill – 8
It’s no easy task marking 6’4″ Beto up front for Everton, who has caused chaos for numerous Premier League defences this campaign, but Levi marshalled him really well.
Chelsea’s ever-present CB this season has been really growing into a leadership role in his recent performances, and today’s was no different.
It’s easy to see in games like today why the Blues value their academy born centre-half so, so highly.
Marc Cucurella – 8
Alongside Caicedo, Marc Cucurella has probably been Chelsea’s most consistent performer this season.
The Stamford Bridge faithful have got used to him flying forward and playing almost as a second striker at times, but he was tasked with a slightly different job today and asked to be more defensive with Caicedo inverting instead of him.
For me there has been no better left-back in the league this season, and today’s performance echoed that sentiment – winning crucial tackles, stepping in to intercept whenever necessary and progressing the ball well too.
Romeo Lavia – 7
When a £115million midfielder is moved to right-back so that you can fit in the starting XI, it emphasises how good of a player you are.
Romeo returned to the starting XI today for only the ninth time this season, and has been missing from the Chelsea side entirely since mid-march when he played just eight minutes vs Arsenal.
His passing was somewhat rusty, which was expected of a player who has been out for so long, but on the half-turn in midfield he really makes a difference for Maresca’s side and is vital in most good things the team do.
If he can stay fit I truly believe he can be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Enzo Fernandez – 7
Picked up his seventh assist of the season with a neat pass into Jackson on the edge of the box in what was a well rounded performance from Chelsea’s number eight.
It was quietly one of the most assured performances I’ve seen since Enzo’s arrival here, as he showed quality on and off the ball as well as all of the passion and leadership that has made the regulars at Stamford Bridge adore him so much.
Noni Madueke – 6
Noni was preferred to the in-form Jadon Sancho on the left wing today with Neto earning a spot on his preferred right hand-side given the nature of his winner against Fulham last time out.
His style of play is less-suited to the left side, as a winger who takes a high volume of shots after cutting inside on his left foot and has a great relationship with Cole Palmer who also prefers to be on the right side of attack.
Nonetheless it was a trickery-laden performance from him, and he had Nathan Patterson on strings for most of the first half with his quick feet – his defensive work didn’t go unnoticed either as he often supported Cucurella in that sense.
Cole Palmer – 3
Palmer stole the show against Everton last season with FOUR goals at Goodison Park, a performance he bought up recently in an Instagram story that he captioned ‘Enjoyment’.
The ice-cold midfielder has gone somewhat off the boil since the turn of the year though, with many fans conspiring he’s not enjoying himself so much under the current manager.
Maresca claimed in the week that it was a mentality issue for Palmer, and not a tactical thing, and to me that seems clear to see.
The Chelsea star has faded to the point he was almost translucent in today’s game, which is just painful to see when you know how he can be when fully firing.
Pedro Neto – 6
Neto gave Mykolenko a torrid time down the right flank, with an incredulous amount of hard work once again.
There was no moment of magic like we saw against Fulham in the last match, and his end product on a consistent basis still needs to improve, but he still showed up for his side outside of that.
Deserves huge credit for his defensive efforts, as he made a number of vital tackles in clutch moments, especially as the game came to a close.
Nicolas Jackson – 8
THAT is exactly what Jackson can do.
So many times in a Chelsea shirt we have seen him do everything required of him as a striker, apart from putting the ball in the back of the net when it’s needed most.
His strike in the 26th minute from outside the box nestled perfectly in the bottom left corner to give the Blues the lead after a great touch on the half-turn.
Aside from the goal, his hard work was much appreciated by the home support, as he often dropped deep to collect the ball and even tracked back to make a last man challenge on Beto at one stage in the second half.
Subs
Reece James (on for Lavia, 67mins) – 6
Replaced Lavia, who was excellent in midfield, and the Blues didn’t look worse off at all.
Probably more solid in terms of defense and offered slighly less in transition than Lavia, but that was probably exactly what was needed from him given the state of the game when he came on.
Jadon Sancho (on for Madueke, 78mins) – 5
Showed flashes of his quick feet and ability, but Chelsea were seeing the game out for most of the time he was on the pitch.
Didn’t see much of the ball, but did his defensive due diligence.
Tyrique George (on for Jackson, 90mins) – 5
Wasn’t given enough time to impact the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (on for Palmer, 90mins) – 5
Wasn’t given enough time to impact the game.