Pedro Neto scored twice on Saturday as Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The win ended Everton’s unbeaten run, lifted Chelsea into fourth place and finally broke a 23-game wait for a Premier League clean sheet. Chelsea had last kept one in January.
Xabi Alonso’s side earned the shutout the hard way. The opening 45 minutes turned fractious, and the referee booked five players in the first 34 minutes.
Chelsea matched Everton’s intensity, just as Alonso had demanded before kick-off. Cole Palmer fired the first shot of the game from 20 yards, and Jordan Pickford saved it.
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Moises Caicedo then volleyed Jordan Henderson’s corner against the crossbar, and Maxence Lacroix saw a goalbound header cleared off the line.
Everton threatened less often, but their chances still tested the shaky defence that had gone so long without a clean sheet. Thierno Barry headed straight at Emiliano Martinez from a corner, and Martinez tipped Jack Grealish’s bouncing volley over the bar. Chelsea defended those moments calmly and reached half-time level.
Neto changed the game 43 seconds after the restart. Morgan Rogers backheeled a pass to Jorrel Hato, who beat Ainsley Maitland-Niles and crossed from the left.
Palmer missed the ball, but Neto, unmarked at the far post, swept his finish past Pickford. It was Chelsea’s third goal in the opening minute of a half this season, equalling their best single-season tally from 2011-12.
The clean sheet faced its biggest test midway through the second half. Martinez collided with Jarrad Branthwaite and Barry while clearing a free-kick, and he needed ten minutes of treatment.
Mike Penders replaced him and made his Premier League debut. The Belgian punched his first cross clear and led the defence through the closing stages. Chelsea also threatened on the break, but Pickford denied Joao Pedro.
Neto sealed the win just before full-time. Henderson’s free-kick hit the wall, and the loose ball fell to Neto.
He waited for space and rolled his shot into the corner. Chelsea then survived 11 minutes of added time to protect the shutout in front of 52,271 fans.
Alonso made just one change from the side that beat Bournemouth, bringing in Hato for the injured Pep Chavarria. Hato repaid him with the assist for the opener. The result gave Chelsea their first win at Everton’s new ground, a fixture in which shutouts and wins have been rare in recent years.
Chelsea host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge next Saturday, October 24 (5:30pm).
