Chelsea win despite a lifeless performance that could spell trouble in Premier League’s top-five race

LONDON — At a stage of the season where points matter more than performances, Chelsea got more of the former than the latter might have delivered them against any other opponent. Nicolas Jackson’s first half strike downed Everton, who had achieved their goal of survival well enough in advance that they could not help but coast around Stamford Bridge. What a relief that must have been for Enzo Maresca. Any other team might have punished a side who seemed so reluctant to do anything with their possession.

Ultimately, what little they did was enough. For this weekend at least, Chelsea are in the top five. If they remain there once they’ve visited Nottingham Forest on the final day, Maresca will have achieved what looked like fair expectations on his appointment at the start of the season. That will matter more than how his side did it.

As has been the case for most of 2025, Chelsea applied control masquerading as threat. They progressed the ball into the final third easily enough but once they reached there seemed to lack either the ideas or inclination for what to do with it. Moises Caicedo was inverting from right back for… reasons. The more this young team seems to take on the characteristics of Maresca, the less they seem to ask of opposition defenses.

Had there been any meaningful stakes for Everton, long since assured of another year of Premier League football, this might have been an almighty struggle for Chelsea. Instead the visitors handed over a winner. Jordan Pickford’s low drilled pass into midfield immediately put pressure on Beto, whose pocket was picked by Trevoh Chalobah from behind as Enzo Fernandez attacked his front. The Argentine moved possession on to Jackson, whose swift low drive was beyond Pickford’s reach.

In a Chelsea side lacking impetus, Jackson was one of the few that stood out. His movement was shrewd, dropping into the space in front of Jarrad Branthwaite and Jake O’Brien rather than getting drawn into duels with Everton’s muscular center halves. When the ball was turned over he would fly back towards goal to win it back. His goal was superbly taken, he might have had another but was just offside when he turned in the rebound from Marc Cucurella’s shot. A 12-game scoreless streak might have brought grumbles from Stamford Bridge, but Jackson proved today he deserves to be a significant part of Chelsea’s plans going forward.

So did Noni Madueke, a sparky presence having been shifted to the left flank. Those two alone were not enough, however, and it took an authoritative display from Robert Sanchez to shake off Everton at the death. Twice he parried smartly, first from Beto and then Dwight McNeil as time ran out for the Toffees.

It really shouldn’t have been so close against a team with nothing to play for. Maresca’s men might have got closer to succeeding in theirs; with four league games left to play their fate remains in their hands. A repeat of the latter at Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, however, and there will be exceedingly tricky days to come for Chelsea.