Neto’s brace fires Chelsea past Everton for crucial away win

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Pedro Neto produced a masterclass, scoring both goals as Chelsea broke stubborn Everton resistance to claim a 2–0 Premier League win at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, ending a 22-match run without a clean sheet that stretched back nine months.

The result lifted Xabi Alonso’s side to fourth in the table while handing David Moyes his first league defeat of the campaign, dropping Everton to sixth.

The first half was tight and tense, with Everton, unbeaten coming into the match, standing firm in front of a raucous 52,271 crowd.

Thierno Barry headed straight at Chelsea keeper Emiliano Martinez and dragged another effort wide, while at the other end Moises Caicedo thumped a volley against the crossbar and Jordan Pickford tipped Neto’s stinging drive over the bar.

Clear chances were scarce, but the tone was set: physical, combative, and fiercely contested.

Whatever Alonso said at half-time worked instantly. Within sixty seconds of the restart, Chelsea surged ahead. Jorrel Hato linked up neatly down the left, cutting a pass back for Neto to steer it under Pickford and into the net, silencing the home stands.

The visitors grew in confidence, moving the ball sharply through midfield, though Everton refused to fold.

The game turned on 75 minutes when Martinez, who had been commanding in goal, collided with Jarrad Branthwaite at a set-piece and had to be carried off.

Sixteen-year-old Mike Penders stepped in to make history as the youngest goalkeeper ever to feature for Chelsea in the Premier League.

If Everton scented a chance to capitalise on the disruption, Neto quickly extinguished it. Deep into second-half stoppage time, after a Jordan Henderson free-kick was only partially cleared, the Portuguese winger pounced on the loose ball and fired low past Pickford to seal the points,  his second of the afternoon and his seventh of the season so far.

The stats underscored Chelsea’s dominance: 53% possession, 18 shots to Everton’s six. They now sit on 13 points from seven matches, just one behind third-placed Brighton and two off the top. Everton remain on 10 points, level with Brentford in fifth.

Attention now turns to the next round of fixtures: Everton travel to face Bournemouth next Saturday, while Chelsea welcome Tottenham to Stamford Bridge in a high-stakes London derby. Both clubs will hope to carry momentum into the international break.