Chelsea came out on top in the battle between the top-four rivals as the capital side eased to a 2-0 win over Champions League-chasing Everton at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
The Blues continue to go from strength to strength under Thomas Tuchel as he once again made wholesale changes to his side, and a dominant first half saw the hosts break the deadlock through a Ben Godfrey own goal just after the half-hour mark.
Everton had their moments as the game went on but never looked like threatening a composed Chelsea, who had a Kai Havertz goal ruled out for handball, but the German playmaker won his side a penalty after being fouled by Jordan Pickford, and Jorginho converted from 12 yards to seal the win in the 65th minute.
Chelsea have now gone 11 games unbeaten since Tuchel took the reins, and no team has managed to find the back of the net against Tuchel's Blues at Stamford Bridge as they extended their lead over fifth-placed Everton to four points with Monday's win.
In contrast, Carlo Ancelotti's Everton lost on unfamiliar territory for the first time since November 1 as their nine-game away unbeaten run in the Premier League game to an end, and they remain fifth on 46 points - one clear of Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Chelsea next face a trip to Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United on Saturday, while Everton must dust themselves down before they play Burnley this weekend.
HIGHLIGHTS
5th min: First chance of the game for Chelsea as a neat short corner routine between Reece James and Marcos Alonso finds its way to Timo Werner on the edge of the box, but he gets his effort horribly wrong.
16th min: Reece James's impressive foray forwards results in a Chelsea corner - the ball finds its way to Jorginho on the edge of the area but his shot trickles wide of the post.
18th min: A dangerous free kick from Alonso is punched out by Jordan Pickford, and Jorginho is there to attempt another long-range effort, but once again the midfielder's shot is off target.
30th min:- Jorginho gives away a foul in a dangerous area after bringing down Richarlison, but Lucas Digne cannot beat the wall with his free kick.
31st min: - Chelsea strike first. Callum Hudson-Odoi feeds Alonso down the left and Kai Havertz is in acres of space in the area - his effort takes a big deflection off Ben Godfrey and finds the far corner. 1-0 Chelsea.
A clever little flick from Kai Havertz, after a lovely bit of build-up play from Chelsea! 👌 pic.twitter.com/6gZAuY0aFF
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 8, 2021
39th min: Allan feeds Richarlison and the Everton attacker is one-on-one with Andreas Christensen, but the Danish defender manages to get a tackle in and stop the attack.
41st min: Alonso once again involved as he manages to beat the defence and get a shot away, but Pickford sticks out a hand to tip it wide of the post.
45 +1 min: A period of Everton pressure ends with Andre Gomes's shot finding its way through several blue shirts, but Edouard Mendy gets down well to save.
51st min: Alonso audaciously goes for goal from a free kick and Pickford has to play it safe and tip it over the crossbar.
53rd min: Chelsea goal disallowed. Havertz turns and shoots brilliantly to beat Pickford and smash home into the bottom corner from Hudson-Odoi's cross. However, David Coote rules it out for handball and VAR upholds the referee's decision.
57th min: Richarlison wastes a magnificent opportunity for Everton after being put through by Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Brazilian just lost his balance at the crucial moment and could not direct his effort on target.
60th min: Hudson-Odoi cuts inside and gets a shot away, which Pickford has to palm over the crossbar, and the resulting corner comes to nothing for Chelsea.
65th min: Havertz is brought down by Pickford in the area and the Blues are awarded a spot kick. Jorginho steps up and rolls a trademark penalty into the back of the net. 2-0 Chelsea.
80th min: Werner manages to get in behind Godfrey and tries to beat Pickford at his near post, but the Everton keeper is equal to it, and Kurt Zouma's header from the corner is saved.
86th min: Pickford once again makes up for his penalty error as he keeps out Werner before saving from substitute N'Golo Kante.
🙅♂️🙅♂️🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/2azcjVqIoI
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 8, 2021
88th min: Some promising play from Everton ends with Bernard blasting a shot over the crossbar - an effort which sums up Everton's night in the capital.
90 +2 min: Kante drifts into plenty of space in the Everton box and meets Alonso's cross, but the Frenchman's header is wide of the mark.
90 +4 min: Mason Mount looks to get his name on the scoresheet, but Pickford is there once again to parry it to safety.
MAN OF THE MATCH - KAI HAVERTZ
© Reuters
Pickford deserves a special mention, but Kai Havertz was involved in everything his side did right during Monday's victory, in spite of his slow start to life in London.
The Germany international found the space for the opener, had a goal unfortunately chalked off for handball and did well to win the penalty which Jorginho converted. A truly confidence-boosting performance from the playmaker.
STANDOUT MOMENT
© Reuters
Hardly one match in the Premier League goes by without some form of VAR or handball-related controversy, and Havertz found himself on the wrong end of a controversial handball call at Stamford Bridge.
The German playmaker was adjudged to have used his arm to bring the ball down before lashing home - a call that surprised former referee Peter Walton - but thankfully for Chelsea, it did not matter in the grand scheme of things.
BEST STAT
100% - Only James Milner in 2016-17 (7/7) has scored more goals in a single Premier League season with all of them coming from the penalty spot than Jorginho this term (6/6). Specialists. #CHEEVE pic.twitter.com/B40mdNrsLc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 8, 2021
MATCH STATS
Possession: Chelsea 65%-35% Everton
Shots: Chelsea 18-7 Everton
Shots on target: Chelsea 8-1 Everton
Corners: Chelsea 7-3 Everton
Fouls: Chelsea 11-12 Everton
LINEUPS
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma; James, Jorginho, Kovacic (Kante 80'), Alonso; Havertz, Hudson-Odoi (Mount 66'); Werner (Pulisic 90')
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Godfrey, Holgate, Keane, Digne; Allan, Gomes (Bernard 76'); Iwobi (Davies 56'), Sigurdsson (King 70'), Richarlison; Calvert-Lewin
