Pedro Neto scores twice as Chelsea end Everton's unbeaten run, 2-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium

Chelsea ended Everton's unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Pedro Neto scoring both goals — one a minute into the second half, the other in the 90th. It was Everton's first Premier League defeat of the season, after two wins and four draws across their first six matchweeks.

Neto's opener came almost immediately after the restart, finishing a move with no assist credited, and his second arrived right at the end to settle any lingering doubt. In between, Chelsea picked up four bookings to Everton's three in a game that stayed edgy throughout without ever producing another goal.

Line-ups

• Everton (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Vitaliy Mykolenko; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall; James Garner, Harrison Armstrong, Jack Grealish; Thierno Barry, Merlin Röhl
• Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martínez; Levi Colwill, Maxence Lacroix, Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong; Cole Palmer, Jordan Henderson, Moisés Caicedo; João Pedro, Morgan Rogers, Pedro Neto

Match facts

• 46' — Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
• 90' — Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
• Yellow cards: Harrison Armstrong (23'), James Tarkowski (34') and Christian Nørgaard (89') for Everton; Pedro Neto (27'), Josh Acheampong (32'), Morgan Rogers (34') and Cole Palmer (65') for Chelsea

A run of six without defeat, ended by one man

Everton had been the division's form side in a quiet way: two wins and four draws through Matchweek 6, unbeaten, conceding only five goals in six games. None of that showed up in the table in bold letters because the draws kept them from pulling clear of the pack, but the underlying record — eight goals for, five against — matched the defensive numbers of the two sides above them in the table, Manchester City and Arsenal. Pedro Neto ended it inside a minute of the restart, finishing a move that Everton's back line had no answer for after dominating very little of the ball in the first place.

Chelsea had arrived at Bramley-Moore Dock in less settled form of their own — two wins, a draw and two defeats across their previous five, including a 0-3 loss at Brentford as recently as Matchweek 5, offset by a 5-1 demolition of Bournemouth the week before this game. That kind of up-and-down run is why Chelsea sat only sixth before kick-off, 15 goals scored in six games but 13 conceded at the other end. This win does not change the pattern of an uneven season so much as add a second result on the right side of it in a row.

Fouls told their own story

Chelsea's 52.8% of the possession was not overwhelming, but the foul count was: fifteen committed to Everton's eight, and four bookings to Everton's three, as the away side worked hard to break down a side that has made a habit of frustrating better teams into draws rather than losses this season. It very nearly worked again — Everton held out until the stroke of half-time changeover for Neto's first, and until the 90th minute for his second, by which point the game had been goalless in open play for the best part of forty-four minutes either side of the interval.

What this does to the table

Everton had gone into the weekend fifth on 10 points from six games, level with Chelsea on points but ahead of them on goal difference. A first defeat of the season for Everton, and back-to-back wins for Chelsea after the Bournemouth result the week before, close that gap from the other side — the kind of result that keeps both clubs firmly in the mix just behind the Premier League's top two without yet making a declarative statement about where either finishes.

What's next

Everton's unbeaten run is over, and their next test is sterner still: away at Arsenal on Saturday 24 October. Chelsea stay at home to face Tottenham Hotspur the same afternoon, looking to build on a result that snapped a difficult recent run of their own.