Jorginho Scores Winner from The Spot as Chelsea Start Season with Narrow Win Over Everton

• Chelsea edged an injury-stricken Everton 1-0 in a scrappy game at Goodison Park
• Jorginho’s penalty in the first half was enough to hand the Blues all three points in a game that Raheem Sterling started
• Everton were hopelessly devoid of attacking threat upfront, with Calvert Lewin nursing an injury

Chelsea got off to a winning start to the campaign, albeit via a scrappy 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, August 6.

Thomas Tuchel wasted no time in introducing his summer signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling to the starting XI, with the pair keen to live up to expectations.

But it was the more established player at Chelsea who came up with the winning goal as Jorginho flawlessly tucked in a penalty in first half added time.

In truth, the game was devoid of quality in many ways, perhaps because it was only the first game of the season.

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Everton in particular looked drab at times, and Frank Lampard was forced to start without a recognized striker following the sale of Richarlison to Tottenham and Dominic Calvert Lewin missing in action through injury.

It only got worse for the Toffees as defender Ben Godfrey suffered what looked like a serious injury which forced him off on a stretcher.

Despite only leading by a single goal, Chelsea were relatively comfortable and could afford to bring in Marc Cucurella to make his debut after his recent move from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Klopp blames dry pitch for Liverpool draw

In the other game, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp subtly blamed the state of the pitch for his side’s 2-2 draw against newly-promoted Fulham.

The Reds never took control of the game and had to come from behind twice to salvage a draw at Craven Cottage

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Fulham twice took the lead in front of their own fans but Liverpool fought hard to claim a draw thanks to Mohammed Salah’s sixth successive goal in his side’s opening league game of the season.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game, a visibly irritated Klopp admitted his side were not at their best and ‘played into Fulham’s cards’.