Jorginho grinds out points for Chelsea at Goodison Park

Mueez Ajao

– Chelsea opened the Premier League season with victory over Everton as Jorginho’s penalty decided a scrappy contest at Goodison Park.

– Thomas Tuchel introduced summer signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling from the start but it was one of Chelsea’s established stars who settled affairs when Jorginho rolled a composed penalty past Jordan Pickford in first-half stoppage time following Abdoulaye Doucoure’s foul on Ben Chilwell.

– Everton, without a recognised striker following the sale of Richarlison and injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, battled gamely but were woefully short of quality and threat in attack.

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– Manager Frank Lampard’s cause was not helped by a serious early injury to defender Ben Godfrey, who was taken off on a stretcher following a challenge on Kai Havertz, with Yerry Mina another casualty in the second half.

– Chelsea survived in relative comfort and were able to give a debut to new signing Marc Cucurella, the defender signed from Brighton in a deal that could eventually by worth £62m, as they made it a winning start.