Chelsea 5-0 Everton. Chelsea FIVEâ¦. Everton NIL. As far as statements of intent in the title race this early in the season go, Antonio Conteâs side sent out a serious one against a Toffees side many were tipping to cause an upset before kick-off with a resounding win.From the moment Eden Hazardâs opener went in after 18 minutes the London club didnât look back, with Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa the Belgian again and Pedro completing the victory with 25 minutes to spare. Indeed, Conte was able to withdraw some of his key men before the final whistle and play exhibition football as the Merseysiders desperately willed the final whistle to come and put them out of their mystery.Itâs often hard to learn much from such huge margins of victory, but we at FFC Towers took a lot from this one, and here are FIVE things we learntâ¦
Everton have no chance of a top four finish
Traditionally we start these pieces with the winning side in focus, but the way Everton were played off the park this evening was, arguably, the biggest story, The Toffees had been talked up as outsiders in the race for the top four earlier this season, but on the evidence of this showing, thereâs no chance of that!
Pedro is flourishingâ¦
Much of the talk surrounding this Chelsea revival has centred around Diego Costaâs goals and Eden Hazardâs rejuvenated form. Indeed, even Victor Moses and David Luiz have been spoken about extensively, but Pedro gets somewhat overlooked. The Spaniardâs Blues career has not been the success he would have hoped for, but in Conteâs 3-4-3 set-up he appears to be thriving, with the license to drift inside coaxing performances akin to those he produced at Barcelona out of him.
Chelsea: title contenders
Even though Chelsea won all of their games in October and kept four clean sheets in the process in league action, they havenât really been talked about extensively in the title debate. Much of the focus has been on Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool â who all entered the weekend level at the summit on 23 points â but with this win, and the Citizensâ dropping of points at home to Middlesbrough, Conteâs Blues moved to the top.
They may fall from their perch after Arsenal and Liverpool play, but after their big losses to the aforementioned two sides in September, being top of the tree now means they really have to be taken seriously.
Idrissa Gueye is vital for Everton
Everton were pulled apart all evening long by Chelsea, whose attacking players really thrived in the space Koeman's side afforded them. Costa received the ball with alarming regularity while Hazard and Pedro were both allowed to drift around, really highlighting Gueyeâs contributions to this Toffees team. The holding midfielder was suspended for the Chelsea clash and although his replacement, Tom Cleverley, is by no means a poor player, his lack of mobility and defensive responsibility was felt.
Hazardâs quality should never have been doubted
Hazardâs 2015/16 was a disaster. The Belgian was, like most Chelsea players, off the boil, leading many to suggest that was no longer among the Premier Leagueâs elite heading into this term. However, heâs silenced all of the critics already, with his second goal against Everton his seventh of the season⦠one more than he notched across the entirety of the last campaign.