Chelsea – Everton: Blues Do The Business Against The Toffees (1-0)

Chelsea won 1-0 against Everton at Stamford Bridge in their bid to qualify in the top five this season and secure Champions League football. Nicolas Jackson’s solitary goal in the first half gave the Blues the three points at home in a game they dominated and controlled. It was an evening where Everton were unable to salvage any points from as the Blues moved into fourth spot in the Premier League table, keeping their hopes of finishing in the top five alive.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

At the end of the full time whistle at Stamford Bridge, Blues boss Enzo Maresca celebrated in the stands, uncannily stationed in the press box, because of serving a touchline ban. It was as strange as it gets, without Maresca in the dugout and with the mood at Stamford Bridge rather pensive going into the game because of the Italian manager’s press conference comments in the build up to this game.

It’s the business end of the season and Chelsea have to do the business. The Blues are firmly in the race to secure a top five berth in the Premier League and qualify for next season’s Champions League but their run-in is rather tricky. This was a game they had to win and as it contrived to unfold, they dominated proceedings as Nicolas Jackson’s 10th goal of the season gave the Blues the vital three points on the evening. The win took Chelsea one step closer to securing a spot in next season’s Champions League as they moved up the table into fourth place, just one . . .