Chelsea v Everton player ratings: Kai Havertz steals the show; Jordan Pickford keeps defeat respectable

A Ben Godfrey own goal and Jorginho penalty seal 2-0 win for Chelsea

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy, 7 – Interestingly, Mendy touched the ball more than both Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin throughout the first half. Marshalled his defensive line well and came out to clear and claim crosses well. A performance that is hard to scrutinise when he ultimately had very little to do. Reuters

Cesar Azpilicueta, 7 – Everton were so busy trying to mark Chelsea’s midfielders that they left space for Azpilicueta to utilise and drive play forward with the ball. Organised everyone around him. Reuters

Andreas Christensen, 8 – Made an important block in the first half before going on to deliver another terrific defensive performance, limiting Everton to only one shot on target. This was his fifth clean sheet on the spin. Reuters

Kurt Zouma, 7 – Back in Chelsea’s squad after a two-week absence, he offered a no-thrills performance and survived a worrying knock to the knee. EPA

Reece James, 7 – Packed his performance with pace and power down the right hand side. Was brilliant at driving play forwards, even though there was very little movement in front of him. Reuters

Mateo Kovacic, 7 – A solid performance in midfield from Kovacic with the highlight a pass through to Havertz that won the hosts a match-winning penalty. Full of energy throughout and enjoyed plenty of touches. EPA

Jorginho, 7 – Will consider himself fortunate that a dangerous set-piece for Everton brought about by his clumsy challenge crashed against the hosts’ wall and over Mendy’s crossbar. Had two good opportunities to score from volleys in the first half. EPA

Marcos Alonso, 8 – Superb at left wing-back, his forward runs caused problems all game. Unlucky not to score when he had one-on-one opportunity with Pickford that was superbly saved by the English stopper. EPA

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 7 – Is becoming a significant contributor to Chelsea’s front line under new manager Thomas Tuchel. Pulled off a number of clever and creative runs, though will possibly be frustrated by the referee’s whistle that denied him the chance to pull the trigger more than once. Reuters

Timo Werner, 5 – His inability to find the back of the net, despite having a number of solid chances, to score will be a concern. EPA

Kai Havertz, 9 – Havertz came to life this evening – all he missed was a goal. Pulled off a clever touch to help put the Blues ahead via a fortuitous touch from Godfrey, and won a second half penalty to help put the game to bed. EPA

SUB: Mason Mount (for Hudson-Odoi, 66), 7 – Will be disappointed not to have an assist to his name because of Werner’s poor finishing. Reuters

SUB: N’Golo Kante (for Kovacic, 80), N/R – Wasn’t the only player to be denied by Pickford’s strong hands. AFP

SUB: Christian Pulisic (for Werner, 90), N/R – Came on late with the game already put to bed.

EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford, 8 – Though Pickford gave away a penalty when fouling Havertz midway through the second half, this was an inspired performance. Pulled off a number of outstanding saves to prevent Ancelotti’s men from further embarrassment. EPA

Mason Holgate, 5 – Booked early on for a sloppy challenge on Werner as he struggled to deal with the German’s pace. That trait continued when he positioned himself poorly in the build-up to the hosts’ first-half goal. Reuters

Michael Keane, 6 – An extremely disciplined performance that involved several key blocks. He looked comfortable and will be disappointed to be on the wrong side of a two-goal defeat. Reuters

Ben Godfrey, 6 – On the whole, he was structured in defence but he was kept busy by Chelsea’s front line. Can’t be blamed for the hosts’ fortuitous opening goal that deflected off him. EPA

Lucas Digne, 6 – Struggled to move possession forward, though this was no fault of his own – more so that Chelsea managed to get numbers back defensively in rapid time. Was dangerous on the left side of midfield, though his influence waned as the game went on. EPA

Alex Iwobi, 5 – Didn’t feature in the game as much as visiting boss Carlo Ancelotti would’ve liked – which is possibly why he was subbed early in the second half. Opportunities to show any attacking flair were limited as he spent the majority of his game marking the active Marcos Alonso. Reuters

Allan, 6 – Was kept busy in the heart of the Toffees’ midfield and did his best to get in the face of the hosts’ midfield players when possible. Had a little more responsibility in possession in the second half but he struggled to make an impact on a well-drilled Chelsea side. EPA

Andre Gomes, 5 – It looked as though he didn’t quite click with Ancelotti’s zonal marking system and he was bullied too often, which resulted in him being subbed. EPA

Gylfi Sigurdsson, 6 – Can’t be knocked for his effort in closing down Chelsea’s defenders and applying pressure where possible. Also retained a good diamond structure with Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Gomes to force Chelsea wide when they attempted to move possession forwards. Didn’t create much going forward, though. AFP

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 5 – It’s unlikely Calvert-Lewin will work harder to win possession from an opposing team again this season. Won lots of headers and put his body on the line to win free kicks too, but scoring opportunities were at a premium. AFP

Richarlison, 5 – Played his best when he had his back to the goal, which is a sign of how well marshalled he was. He worked hard throughout the 90 minutes, though, but things didn’t quite fall into place at the other end.

SUB: Tom Davies (for Iwobi, 56), 6 – Made an impact in midfield and was unfortunate not to get an assist. Reuters

SUB: Josh King (for Sigurdsson, 70), N/R – A big ask to make an impression on the game when coming on with Everton 2-0 down. EPA

SUB: Bernard (for Gomes, 76), N/R – Made little impact in the attacking areas of the pitch with the game’s outcome already decided. EPA

Chelsea extended their impressive turnaround under new coach Thomas Tuchel with a 2-0 home win over in-form Everton on Monday as Kai Havertz played a key role in both goals on his return to the starting XI.

The German had struggled to show why Chelsea paid a reported $98 million for him last year. But it was his shot that Everton defender Ben Godfrey turned into his own net in the 31st minute after a Marcos Alonso cross.

In the 64th minute, Havertz raced on to a long ball from Mateo Kovacic and was brought down by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Jorginho scored from the spot after his trademark skip and jump to send Pickford the wrong way.

Havertz had put the ball in the back of the net himself in the 53rd minute but a VAR check confirmed that he used his arm to control the ball before turning and striking it past Pickford.

The England goalkeeper pulled off a string of saves to prevent Everton - who had won their previous three matches without conceding a goal - from going down to a heavier defeat.