Iwobi impresses for Everton in narrow defeat to Chelsea

Chelsea kicked off their 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Everton away at Goodison Park thanks to a first-half penalty by Jorginho.

The game saw multiple new players make appearances for both Everton and Chelsea but it was the already established players that made an impact, such as Alex Iwobi.

The Nigerian international played the full 90 minutes for Everton and was among the best players on the pitch.

Everton and Chelsea faced off at Goodison Park in Saturday's Premier League late kickoff in what was a keenly contested encounter that wasn't particularly exciting.

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The first half went on without much to report until Abdoulaye Doucoure had a rush of blood to the head and fouled Ben Chilwell in the box, leading to a Chelsea penalty in the ninth minute of added time.

The penalty was duly dispatched by Jorginho in routine fashion to give Chelsea the lead on the cusp of halftime in a half that only lasted so long due to injury delays as Everton centre-back Ben Godfrey required medical attention leading to him getting substituted off in the 18th minute.

The second half went on similarly to the first, mostly without goalmouth action and even though Everton never really looked like scoring, the Toffees were a bit more direct in the second half.

For Chelsea it was all about consolidation, securing all three points with their lead which they did but at the cost of two key injuries to Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva at the heart of their defence.

Super Eagles player Alex Iwobi started the game for Everton in an unfamiliar central midfield position and he played the full 90 minutes and held his own.

Iwobi had 47 touches and attempted 30 passes in the game against Chelsea with an 81.1% success rate in the middle of the park for Everton.

Iwobi played two key passes, one of which led to Everton's best chance in the game, a long pass to put Demarai Gray through on goal but the shot was blocked by Thiago Silva.

The Nigerian star completed 4 of his 8 long balls with a 50% success rate and he also completed his one and only attempted dribble in the game.

On the negative side, Iwobi did lose possession seven times and was dribbled past on three separate occasions but he made up for that with three clearances and two interceptions.