Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Everton

Cole Palmer was back among the goals as Chelsea snapped a four-game winless streak by seeing off Everton 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer scored his first Premier League goal since September, while Malo Gusto was also on target for the Blues.

The England attacker, who only recently returned from a long injury layoff, struck midway through the first half to put Chelsea ahead.

Having teed up Palmer’s opener, Gusto doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 45th minute, with Everton, who had chances to restore parity before that second goal, unable to generate a response after the break, though Iliman Ndiaye hit the post late on.

Enzo Maresca’s side leapfrogged Crystal Palace, who play Manchester City on Sunday, into fourth place, four points ahead of Everton, who dropped to eighth.

How the match unfolded

Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 21st minute as Gusto's neat through-ball released Palmer, who clinically swept past Jordan Pickford.

The hosts were almost gifted a second goal just two minutes later, but Alejandro Garnacho rolled agonisingly wide after pouncing on Carlos Alcaraz's loose backpass.

Yet Everton looked the most likely to score next, with Thierno Barry just failing to tuck in Idrissa Gueye’s centre before Robert Sanchez thwarted Jack Grealish.

However, against the run of play, Chelsea grabbed their second when Gusto steered home Pedro Neto’s cutback.

Garnacho twice went close to stretching Chelsea's advantage after the break, firing off target from a tight angle on both occasions, while Reece James saw a dipping free-kick tipped over after Grealish sliced wide from a glorious chance to halve the deficit at the other end.

Ndiaye struck the base of the woodwork after a mazy run and Trevoh Chalobah blocked Alcaraz’s strike as Everton aimed to set up a grandstand finale, but they ultimately slipped to just their second defeat in seven league games.

Blues enjoy that winning feeling once more

Without victory in three league games before this match, the Blues will have welcomed the opportunity to face Everton, against whom they are now unbeaten in their last 31 Premier League meetings at Stamford Bridge – a run that stretches all the way back to 1994.

And though Everton showed plenty of attacking endeavour, Chelsea had the touches of class when it mattered.

Palmer got back on the scoresheet with aplomb, though his goal owed plenty to Gusto, who drifted inside from right-back and played a wonderful pass in behind Everton’s lines.

Had Garnacho found his shooting boots, Chelsea could have taken complete control, but instead the Blues had to withstand some Everton pressure before Gusto turned from provider to scorer when he capitalised on Neto’s fantastic work down the right.

And though Chelsea have dropped plenty of points from winning positions at home this season, they never really looked likely to falter this time out, albeit they may have had a nervy finish had Ndiaye’s effort crept inside the post.

Next up for Maresca’s side is an EFL Cup quarter-final showdown with League One side Cardiff City on Tuesday, while they face tough propositions in their next two Premier League games in Newcastle United next Saturday and Aston Villa seven days later.

A familiar tale for the Toffees at the Bridge

Both Everton and David Moyes’ wait for a Premier League win at Stamford Bridge goes on.

Moyes ended his Old Trafford hoodoo last month, but Chelsea’s home ground continues to prove a hurdle he – and Everton – cannot overcome just yet.

Everton made a bright start, but their momentum was halted in the 16th minute when in-form Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall limped off injured against his former club.

Dewsbury-Hall’s bite, energy and quality on the ball was sorely missed, and Moyes will hope the injury is nothing serious.

Nevertheless, Everton responded well to falling behind to Palmer’s goal, but continued to lack that cutting edge in front of goal, and were punished by Gusto just before the break, with Vitaliy Mykolenko failing to deal with Neto.

The Toffees could still have reduced the arrears, though. Grealish should probably have at least hit the target from inside the six-yard box after connecting with Alcaraz’s wicked delivery, while Ndiaye was unlucky to be denied by the upright.

But Everton cannot afford to get too downbeat about this result, with Arsenal visiting Hill Dickinson Stadium next week. The Toffees will be without key duo Gueye and Ndiaye, however, as they head off to the Africa Cup of Nations.