Chelsea secure tight win against Everton thanks to Jorginho’s pen

Chelsea opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Everton, thanks to Jorginho’s penalty.

Thomas Tuchel introduced summer signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling from the start, but it was one of Chelsea’s established stars who settled matters when Jorginho rolled a composed penalty past Jordan Pickford in first-half stoppage time following Abdoulaye Doucoure’s foul on Ben Chilwell.

Everton fought valiantly despite being without a recognised striker following the sale of Richarlison and the injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Manager Frank Lampard’s cause was not helped by a serious early injury to defender Ben Godfrey, who was taken off on a stretcher following a challenge on Kai Havertz and was later confirmed to have fractured his leg, with Yerry Mina another casualty in the second half.

Chelsea survived in relative comfort and were able to give debut to new signing Marc Cucurella, the defender signed from Brighton in a deal worth up to £62 million, as they got off to a winning start.

Chelsea never needed to reach new heights to defeat Everton, but manager Tuchel will be happy just to get the season started after a difficult summer.

Raheem Sterling showed flashes of what he can bring, while powerhouse defender Koulibaly eased his way into the Premier League against Everton’s blunt instrument.

Chelsea did not cause too many serious problems for Everton, but the game was effectively over because the visiting defense had too much know-how and the home team lacked nous.

Cucurella’s debut was marked only by a yellow card for kicking the ball away in the dying moments as Chelsea ran down the clock against an increasingly frustrated Everton.

Chelsea will be looking to bring in more new faces before the end of the transfer window and have been linked with a number of names, despite having a very strong squad.

It’s all about getting the best possible result on the first day, which Chelsea did with ease.

Everton put in a lot of effort and effort in this Premier League opener, but they looked like the team they were before the season began, namely a team without a recognized striker.

They made themselves hostages to fortune by failing to replace Richarlison after his £60 million move to Tottenham, and they paid the price when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury sustained in training days before the season began.

It was a flaw that was exposed when Lampard was forced to give Anthony Gordon the thankless task of filling an unfamiliar role up front, where he struggled predictably against the experience of Chelsea’s summer signings Koulibaly and Thiago Silva.

Lampard must address this urgently while also focusing on bringing in new faces.

Lille’s £33m midfielder Amadou Onana arrived in the directors’ box to warm applause in the first half before completing his move, while talks are ongoing for Paris St-Idrissa Germain’s Gueye to return to Goodison Park.

The pursuit of Wolves defender Conor Coady may intensify following the injuries to Godfrey and Mina, but the need for a striker became clear with every minute of this disappointing defeat.