Nicholas Jackson ended his long goal drought and moved Chelsea closer to the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.
A convincing performance ended with a decisive goal midway through the first half. It was the striker's first goal since December 15, and he confidently fired home from 20 yards past Jordan Pickford as if he were scoring every week, with suspended manager Enzo Maresca watching from the stands.
The Italian's emotional celebration after Pedro Neto's goal against Fulham a week ago earned him his third yellow card this season, but his joy will be justified if, as seems increasingly likely, Chelsea can break into the top five.
The win, which might have been more significant had it not been for Pickford's impressive individual performance, was Chelsea's third in five Premier League wins and secured their Champions League place at the weekend.
They dominated much of the match, with Marc Cucurella linking up with Noni Madueke on the left early on, who broke through and forced Pickford into his first save.
Romeo Lavia made his first start since mid-January and Chelsea dominated the midfield in the first half, moving the ball quickly around Everton's half and showing an aggression off the ball that has been all too rare in recent months.
It was through such efforts that they took the lead. Pickford's clearance put Beto under pressure and, facing his own goal, he was denied by Trevoh Chalobah's shot. Enzo Fernandes picked up the ball on 27 minutes, laying it over to Jackson, who turned on the spot and charged forward confidently before firing a superb shot into the corner.
Everton had little attacking action and their only chance after the break came in the dying minutes when Abdoulaye Doucoure failed to properly control Vitaliy Mykolenko's pass and his header went wide.
Pickford again thwarted Madueke just after the break, deflecting the winger's close-range effort into the near post with his foot.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had been criticised, with some fans still finding him too unpredictable in his command of both the shirt and his penalty area. However, he repaid Maresca's continued faith with an impressive save to deny Beto a shot midway through the second half, diving to his right and putting a firm hand out to block the striker's effort.
The match between Madueke and Pickford resumed in the third and the Everton goalkeeper made another save, denying his England team-mate's low shot from the corner.
Jackson put the ball into the net for a second time but was ruled offside after Pickford saved Cucurella's effort, and then Sanchez contributed to what was a superb display of goalkeeping by denying Dwight McNeil's effort.
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