Everton 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Pedro (66’) Cahill (79’) Willian (86’)
Man of the Match: Pedro (Chelsea)
Punches were swung with wild abandon. The Merseyside air was pummelled by Antonio Conte, a manager whose team have controlled the title race abandoning any sense of personal restraint. In a weekend notable for a heavyweight battle, Chelsea struck a knockout blow.
Conte’s men floored Everton. No one, surely, stands in Chelsea’s way now. The title is theirs, Conte’s crowning glory nearing. His celebrations revealed the significance of a win of colossal importance. He was greeted with adulation. Goodison Park reverberated to the sound of the least creative, most enduring chant of the season. “Antonio, Antonio.” The subject of their acclaim responded modestly. “We create this type of link between me and the fans and it is incredible,” he said, seemingly surprised.
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But this was a win with Conte’s influence stamped all over it. Chelsea’s autumn renaissance began with a sequence of clean sheets. They had mislaid their frugal streak of late, going 11 league games without a shutout, but regained it in improbable surroundings. Everton had been free-scoring at Goodison Park but, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin rattled the post in the second minute, they were muted in attack. For the first time in 2017, Romelu Lukaku completed a home game without a goal to his name.
Instead, the scorers offered evidence of Conte’s impact. Gary Cahill has assumed the captaincy after John Terry was injured and omitted. Stand-in skipper’s defensive frailties have been camouflaged, his goalscoring tendencies encouraged. He delivered an eighth of a prolific campaign from close range after Maarten Stekelenburg failed to hold Eden Hazard’s free kick.
Chelsea’s last goal, as Everton manager Ronald Koeman accepted, stemmed from “high-class offensive football.” It came from a combination of Cesc Fabregas and Willian, starters demoted to substitutes by the Italian. The Brazilian was alone in emerging from last season with reputation enhanced. He has been reinvented as a deluxe squad player and Conte’s telling changes produced a dividend.
The greatest change of all has been systemic. Pedro has been a beneficiary of Conte’s switch to 3-4-2-1. He ranks among his success stories. The flagship signing of 2015 was one of Jose Mourinho’s underachievers. He is a player revived and reinvented by the Italian. With stalemate beckoning, Pedro unleashed an unstoppable shot from 20 yards. “Pedro is showing himself to be a great player,” said Conte. “Don’t forget he played for Barcelona and won a lot with this club.”
A maiden trophy with Chelsea will owe much to him. Whether with first-minute opener against Manchester United or his vital equaliser against Tottenham, the Spaniard has delivered at pivotal points. The lowest profile of Chelsea’s front three — despite that stellar CV — proved the most effective. Diego Costa booted his best chance over the bar in a moment plucked from Australian rules football. Hazard had a personal policeman in the determined Idrissa Gueye, who sought to emulate the man-marking job Ander Herrera did on the Belgian two weeks earlier. “It was an outstanding performance from Gana,” said Koeman. “He controlled him.”
Halting Hazard did not equate to silencing Chelsea. “A great away win,” added Conte. “We knew Everton won eight games in a row at Goodison Park.” But they have also lost home and away to Chelsea now by an aggregate score of 8-0. “We didn’t deserve this defeat with three goals difference,” Koeman said. But as the Dutchman accepted, Chelsea are “really clinical.” Theirs was, he felt, the performance of champions in the final half-hour. More cautious in his words than deeds, Conte argued the job is not done yet. “This season could become from good, fantastic,” he said. It is only a matter of time before even Conte officially accepts it is.
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