Chelsea and Everton battled it out in a low-tempo match in the Carabao Cup with the Stamford Bridge outfit coming through as 2-1 winners on the night. Chelsea had a very comfortable first half and took the lead in the 26th minute after a drab opening where neither side looked interested to win the match. A deep cross from the weaker foot of Charly Musonda found Antonio Rudiger backtracking and the German summer signing from Roma placed a looping header into the far post to give Chelsea the lead.
Everton came out in the second half looking sharper and more determined and threatened the Blues goal on multiple occasions but were unlucky to not get their equalizer after a series of chances somehow missed the back of the net.
Willian wrapped things up for Chelsea stylishly in the 1st minute of the four-minute injury time with an unstoppable low curling drive that left Pickford hapless.
Everton finally found the net with the very next attack but it was too little too late for the Toffees on the night.
The Best & Worst Chelsea Players Rated From Their Comfortable Win Over Everton
Willy Caballero: 7
A series of good saves to keep Chelsea in the lead including a reflex point-blank save from Wayne Rooney. Made a mess of a clearance though when he gifted Lennon the ball in the box only for the winger to miss the open goal.
Davide Zappacosta: 7
A sharp performance on a slow night, he impressed with his runs down the right flank.
Antonio Rudiger: 8
A solid goal followed by certain moments of childish play to get himself in the book with a silly tackle. Was comfortable with dealing with the slow moving Everton attack.
Andreas Christensen: 7
Handled the threat of Wayne Rooney very well and had an easy night after the tumultuous last few weeks at the club.
Gary Cahill: 7
The Chelsea captain marshalled the backline well and kept Everton quiet.
Kenedy: 7
A good performance from a player considered not even a good backup option but far away from entering the first team as was evident from his on the ball adventures.
Danny Drinkwater: 7
A long-awaited debut for the Englishman. He looks off the pace but that is probably because of his injury. Showed glimpses of a good passing range he will need more game time and training to get back to his best.
Ethan Ampadu: 7.5
Impressive play from the 17-year-old. He looks like a promising talent with decent tackling skills and a keen eye to go for the early long passes.
Charly Musonda: 6.5
Good cross to set up Chelsea’s first goal but did little all match long otherwise to demand a regular place in the team.
Michy Batshuayi: 5.5
The striker is unpredictable. One day he comes off the bench to score beautiful goals to give Chelsea a much-needed win and on another day played a very average game and failed to make a mark when given the opportunity to play 85 minutes.
Willian: 8.5
Looks sharper and sharper since the weekend match at Watford. Linked up the forward play well, and moved around fast and smooth. Scored a world class goal to take Chelsea through on the night.
Substitutes
Pedro: 5.5
Very little impact as he came on at a time when waves of Everton attack where crashing in on the Chelsea goal.
Cesc Fabregas: 6
Failed to re-establish the Chelsea dominance in the midfield and got sucked in by the repeated Everton attack. Did his customary assist for the Willian goal, however.
Alvaro Morata: N/A
Just played the last 5 minutes.
