Chelsea put the troubles of a harrowing 2022 season behind them by fighting their way to a 1-0 win at Everton on Saturday thanks to Jorginho's penalty.
Manager Thomas Tuchel had warned last week that Chelsea were "not ready" for the new season after a gruelling tour of the United States, which included a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, left his squad drained.
However, a new era at Stamford Bridge under the ownership of Todd Boehly and his group is picking up pace off the field with the signings of Marc Cucurella and Carney Chukwuemeka in recent days joining new arrivals Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Sterling, Koulibaly and Cucurella made their debuts as Chelsea ended a run of four consecutive defeats at Goodison Park despite a patchy performance.
"We have struggled in the last seasons to get points here and we have the points," said Tuchel.
"A win is a win, it's the most important thing, but we have to get better. We are maybe not at the highest level. We have brought players in but they came in late, pre-season was a bit turbulent but the last week of training was promising."
Everton v Chelsea ratings
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EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 6. Relatively quiet evening for the England shot stopper. He had no chance with the penalty, and made a couple of routine stops from Chelsea set pieces. However, he also made a worrying spill in the build-up Raheem Sterling’s offside goal. AFP -
Nathan Patterson - 7. A positive evening’s work and a solid performance, in which he managed to keep Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic quiet. AP -
Yerry Mina - 6. Responded to what was asked of him aerially and on the ground, and was particularly effective for the Toffees while defending set pieces. Found wanting a couple of times in the pace department against Sterling. Reuters -
James Tarkowski - 8. Impressive debut for the former Claret, who added a bit of stability Everton have been crying out for in recent times. It was evident he can have a positive impact. Reuters -
Ben Godfrey - N/A. He picked up a possible long-term injury after a crunching recovery tackle on Kai Havertz following a poor back pass. Getty -
Vitalii Mykolenko - 7. A solid effort at LWB. He offered a threat on the overlap and linked well with Alex Iwobi, but was sometimes lacking with his final ball. AFP -
Abdoulaye Doucoure - 5. Conceded the game-winning penalty with a lazy lunge on Ben Chilwell from behind, and ultimately found himself lost at times within the midfield battle against N’golo Kante. Getty -
Alex Iwobi - 7. Energetic as ever from the Nigerian international. He made some nice driving runs from central midfield and offered a powerful dynamic to Everton's game. AP -
Demarai Gray - 6. A quieter showing from the former Leicester man, who missed a key through ball to Anthony Gordon in a big moment on the counter attack at 0-0. AFP -
Dwight McNeil - 6. Struggled to maintain possession against a hardworking Chelsea outfit, and lacked the guile to influence things at the top end, leaving Anthony Gordon relatively isolated. EPA -
Anthony Gordon - 6. His work-rate was second to none, but struggled physically, often conceding possession to Chelsea’s press. His only effort on goal was a half-chance header early in the first half. Getty -
SUBS: Mason Holgate (Godfrey, 18) - 6. Slotted in nicely and offered a composed performance, winning the majority of his defensive duels. PA -
Dele Alli (McNeil, 61) - 5. Another passenger-like performance for the former England regular. Alli’s only notable showing were some nice ball retentions to keep the side moving up the pitch. Getty -
Ruben Vinagre (Mina, 70) - N/A. Made little impact at either end of the pitch. Getty -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 7. A clean sheet for the Senegalese shot stopper who, though rarely troubled by the Everton attack, produced a fine save to deny Tarkowski a debut opener. PA -
Reece James - 6. He wasn’t troubled defensively, but played some nice passes through the lines. He was booked on 56 minutes for time wasting from a throw-in. Reuters -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 6. A composed performance after securing a two-year contract extension only days ago. AP -
Thiago Silva - 8. Brazilian looked composed in possession and was as smart as ever out of it. He denied the hosts goal-scoring opportunity with a clean interception of Demarai Gray’s attempted through ball. Reuters -
Kalidou Koulibaly - 8. Began his English football career with an excellent performance, retaining possession well and putting in some clean tackles to recycle the visitors’ possession. He played a lovely pass into Chilwell to allow him to get in the box to win the penalty. AP -
Ben Chilwell - 8. Won the decisive penalty after a bursting run into the box, and showed no signs of struggle after a long nine-month injury lay off. PA -
Jorginho - 7. A tidy performance from the Italian midfielder, who kept things moving nicely and expertly dispatched the penalty in the decisive moment. AP -
N’golo Kante - 7. The Frenchman buzzed around the pitch all evening. He made a couple of misplaced passes, but on the whole offered a really solid showing. Getty -
Mason Mount - 6. Relatively quiet afternoon for Mount. While he enjoyed some nice link-up play with those around him, offered very little other than a well-hit strike straight down the throat of Pickford in the first half. Getty -
Raheem Sterling - 8. Bright debut for the former Manchester City man, who offered some lovely pieces of skill to beat his man. Unfortunate to not have a brace to his name after a disallowed goal and an effort expertly blocked by Mykolenko late in the second half. EPA -
Kai Havertz - 6. The German was quiet on the whole. He saw a smart header well saved by Pickford in what was his only effort of note. Reuters -
SUBS: Christian Pulisic (Mount, 65) - 5. Didn’t really impact the visitors going forward, and instead drifted out of the contest. Getty -
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chilwell 65) - 6. Filled in nicely at wing-back and offered some nice moments on the overlap. AFP -
Armando Broja (Havertz, 75) - N/A. Ran the channels well and held up play nicely, though had no real opportunities on goal. Reuters -
Marc Cucurella (Koulibaly, 75) - N/A. Nice moments offensively, including a nice cross back for Sterling to strike goalwards. Getty -
Connor Gallagher (Jorginho, 97) - N/A. Competitive debut in blue for the former Crystal Palace loanee, who had little time to have any real impact on proceedings. Getty
Chelsea peppered the home goal with 13 corners in the first half but the goal remained elusive. Just as the interval approached, Jorginho converted from the spot after Ben Chilwell has been fouled to give the visitors the lead.
It was redemption for Italy midfielder Jorginho, who saw his penalty saved by Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford during the Euro 2020 final last July.
Everton's pre-season preparations were rocked this week by an injury that ruled England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin out for the first six weeks of the season.
The Toffees suffered another injury blow early on when Ben Godfrey was stretchered off after coming off worse in a challenge with Kai Havertz.
"I thought we played well against a tough opponent," manager Frank Lampard told the BBC. "I thought the penalty was the only difference between the teams.
"One tiny lack of focus and they got their goal. I felt a draw would be a fair result."
Meanwhile, Tuchel revealed defender Marcos Alonso was not included in Chelsea's line-up for their opening match of the Premier League season as he wants to leave the club.
"He asked to leave and we agreed to his wish," Tuchel said. "That is why it would not have made sense to put him on the pitch."
Having given new £60m left-back Marc Cucurella a debut off the bench, Tuchel is ready to allow Alonso to return to his Spanish homeland.
