Chelsea produced perhaps their most convincing performance of the season as they defeated Everton 6-0 in the Premier League on Monday evening.
Star man Cole Palmer continued his stunning breakout campaign with four goals at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist were also on the scoresheet on a miserable night for the Toffees.
Here, Mail Sport’s Kieran Gill rates both sets of players.
Cole Palmer was again the star of the show as Chelsea defeated Everton on Monday
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)
Djordje Petrovic – 6.5
Hardly had anything to do with Chelsea’s goal as Everton were extremely weak. You can just sit back, relax and enjoy the Cole Palmer show.
Malo Gusto – 7
One of those that contributed to a shaky start, Palmer’s early strike calmed the team’s nerves as Chelsea took full control of this ‘match’.
Trevo Chalobah – 7
Glad to see the assistant’s flag correctly disallowed Beto’s header for offside when Chelsea were 3-0 up and showing a generally dominant defensive style.
Thiago Silva – 7.5
He is still going strong at 39, receiving crosses from Everton and coping with the physical challenge of Beto. “Oh Thiago Silva,” the supporters rightly sang.
Marc Cucurella – 7
He worked tirelessly down the left as his cross found Jackson for Chelsea, making it 4-0 before half-time, with little to no problem defensively.
Moises Caicedo – 8
One of those games where every Chelsea player performed to the standard expected of him. Interesting to see how he took advantage of having Gallagher next to him.
Record signing Moises Caicedo thrived in midfield alongside Conor Gallagher
Conor Gallagher – 8
Caicedo partnered in midfield in the absence of Enzo Fernandez and Everton could not live with Chelsea’s overall setup, with another tireless performance from the captain.
Noni Madueke – 7.5
Good deception on the right against Mykolenko. A bit mischievous that he got involved in a few pushes with Palmer and Jackson when he went to take the penalty.
Cole Palmer – 9.5
Left foot. Right foot. Header. The perfect hat-trick, all scored within 28 minutes. He added his fourth to make it 5–0 by going over the scoreline as Chelsea were awarded the penalty.
Mychailo Mudryk – 7
Used his speed in the build-up to Chelsea’s second goal to get the ball into the penalty area and is clearly growing in confidence with each start.
Nicolas Jackson – 8.5
Deserved a goal for himself and got it with a nice take, turn and finish to secure it. But involved in some negative scenes when it came to who takes the penalty.
Nicolas Jackson put himself on the scoresheet with a fine finish in the second half
SUBS
Carney Chukwuemeka (for Madueke, 72) – 6
Ben Chilwell (for Mudryk, 80) – N/A
Casare Casadei (for Palmer, 80) – N/A
Deivid Washington (for Jackson, 88) – N/A
Alfie Gilchrist (for Gusto, 88) – N/A
SUBS NOT USED
Marcus Bettinelli
Benoit Badiashile
Tyrique George
Kiano Dyer
MANAGER
Mauricio Pochettino – 8.5
A perfect performance from his team – one in which they avoided any temptation to indulge in self-sabotage – but he must name his designated penalty taker.
EVERTON (4-4-1-1)
Jordan Pickford-2
Having already admitted two to Palmer, he then gave him a gift in an attempt to pass out from the back. Hopefully we can get his mistakes out of his system before this summer’s European Championships…
Jordan Pickford was beaten six times to give Palmer a hat-trick goal
Seamus Coleman – 3
A bit too much mustard on the cross for Beto – sorry – before the Everton captain was substituted at half-time with his team trailing 4-0.
James Tarkowski – 2
Dear me. Not exactly the most enjoyable evening for Everton’s defenders as they were tormented until the very end when Gilchrist made it 6-0.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 3
He has been linked with mega-money transfers to the biggest and best clubs, but Palmer had his number here, nipping at his heels ahead of the opener of this attack.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 3
Madueke turned and turned Mykolenko into a pretzel as Everton struggled from start to finish and almost never looked like they were here to compete.
Ashley Young – 2
Showed some signs of frustration – such as when he was admonished for cynically tripping Gallagher – and one of those who put in a performance that didn’t suit the shirt.
Ashley Young was one of five Everton players to receive a 2/10 for his performance
Amadou Onana – 2.5
During the 45 minutes he was on the pitch he could barely get close to the ball or any of his men, with the added embarrassment of being fouled at half-time.
James Garner-2.5
It’s never a good sign when a manager drops both of his midfielders at half-time. That showed how lost the visitors were in the middle of the park when they were 4-0 down.
Dwight McNeil – 2
Let’s be honest: Everton offered hardly anything offensively from the wings, and McNeil barely had a sniff on the left.
Dwight McNeil barely had a sniff on the left, while Everton offered little in attack
Abdoulaye Doucouré – 2
Anonymous game from Doucoure until he gave Chelsea the chance to make it 5-0 from the penalty spot, causing Palmer to make a mistake in the penalty area.
Beto – 3
Frustrated with himself for having the odd chance to score, even as Coleman’s cross flew to him in the six-yard box. It was still 0-0 then…
SUBS
Nathan Patterson (for Coleman, 45) – 5.5
Michael Keane (for Branthwaite, 57) – 5.5
Jack Harrison (for Onana, 45) – 5.5
André Gomes (for Garner, 45) – 5.5
Ben Godfrey (for Patterson, 90) – N/A
SUBS NOT USED
Joao Virginia
Nathan Patterson
Arnaut Danjuma
Youssef Chermiti
Lewis Warrington
MANAGER
Sean Dyche – 2
Embarrassing evening for Everton. They have shown no fight against a Chelsea team who we know have shown their vulnerability this season. Night to forget.
REFEREE
Paul Tierney – 6
Everton were furious to award Chelsea a penalty, but let’s face it, the damage was done long before the home side made it 5-0.