Chelsea fended off a valiant Everton to make a victorious start to their new Premier League campaign.
The Blues ran out 1-0 winners at Goodison Park thanks to Jorginho 's ice-cool penalty on the stroke of half-time. Frank Lampard 's side battled hard but Abdoulaye Doucoure 's clumsy foul on Ben Chilwell ultimately undid all of their good work and eased the pressure on Thomas Tuchel after a difficult post-takeover pre-season.
The first half was marred by a sickening injury to Ben Godfrey after just 10 minutes, with the Everton defender being forced off on a stretcher and leaving Lampard limited in his options. The same can't be said for Tuchel, who left out Timo Werner and Marcos Alonso, both strongly linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge before the summer transfer window closes.
Here are six talking points from Goodison Park.
1. New signings on show
Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel both lined up with two new signings in their respective starting XIs. Everton had James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil involved, having both arrived from Burnley over the summer. Tarkowski was brought in on a free to help shore up the Toffees' leaky defence, while McNeil will offset the £60million departure of star man Richarlison.
Meanwhile, Chelsea had Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, two players with experience at the top of European football at either end of the pitch. Fellow new man Marc Cucurella made the bench, following his eye-raising transfer from Brighton which could be worth a total £62m.
2. Godfrey's sickening injury
With England short on quality centre-back options, Everton's Ben Godfrey would've gone into the new campaign with high hopes and one eye on making the Three Lions' World Cup squad in Qatar. But the 24-year-old's season looks to have suffered a major setback after only 10 minutes of action.
Following a mix-up at the back with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, Godfrey had to race back and produce a last-ditch challenge. Immediately the collision, the former Norwich prodigy vehemently signalled to the medical team pleading for treatment, appearing to have suffered a serious ankle injury and needing oxygen.
After seven minutes what looked to be excruciating pain on the turf, Godfrey was stretchered off in place of Mason Holgate to applause from around the stadium.
3. Jorginho spot on
After such an encouraging half from both a team and individual point of view, Abdoulaye Doucoure sunk Everton's optimism with a clumsy foul on Ben Chilwell. The Chelsea wing-back wriggled into the box after a smart through ball by Kouliably and was taken down by the Toffees midfielder, leaving Craig Pawson no option but to point to the penalty spot.
The Blues were applying the pressure before the break and while Edouard Mendy's save from Tarkowski had been the closest either side had gone to scoring, Jorginho broke the deadlock in the eighth and final minute of added time. The Italian cooly tucked home in the bottom left-hand corner, sending Pickford the wrong way.
4. Everton's woes worsen
Not only was Godfrey forced into a premature departure, as fellow centre-back Yerry Mina followed just over an hour later. The Colombian, albeit reluctantly, hobbled off midway through the second half to make way for new signing Ruben Vinagre.
It means that Lampard is now without two first-choice defenders and his two senior striker options, with Salomon Rondon suspended and Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury. It's safe to say that the Toffees are in dire need of reinforcements - good thing incoming signing Amadou Onana was spotted watching from the stands.
Get involved! Who should Everton sign before deadline day? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
5. Medical emergency
As the closing stages dawned, there were some concerning scenes as the game was stopped due to a medical emergency with a spectator. The match was thankfully able to resume three minutes once a policeman ran across the pitch to assist the situation.
6. Chelsea weather the storm
For a club with a new £4.25billion takeover in the rearview mirror, it's been rather gloomy at Stamford Bridge this summer. A pre-season tour of the United States was marred by sloppy performances and a 4-0 trouncing at the hands of London rivals Arsenal, but Tuchel can pleased his side got off the perfect start in a fixture they lost back in April.
