Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata were on target as Chelsea showed their Premier League pedigree by swatting aside Everton.
Fabregas fired Chelsea in front after 27 minutes and Morata headed in a second before half-time as the holders moved within three points of leaders Manchester United with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Everton offered little to show that they could win at Chelsea for the first time in the league since 1994, a run which now spans 23 matches.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
STAR MAN
Fabregas. Restored to the starting line-up at the first opportunity following suspension, the playmaker displaced Tiemoue Bakayoko and was the catalyst for Chelsea’s performance.
Cesc Fabregas
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Referee Jon Moss will be watching the highlights of Chelsea’s second goal after playing advantage.
Victor Moses had been fouled on the edge of the area, but Moss allowed play to continue and Cesar Azpilicueta crossed for Morata to head in unmarked.
ENGLISH CONTINGENT
As if to emphasise his pre-match point – that none of Chelsea’s youngsters are good enough, yet – Conte selected only one Englishman in his squad, England Under-20 World Cup winner Fikayo Tomori. And Tomori was only present because of Gary Cahill’s suspension.
Everton, in contrast, had 11 Englishmen in their squad, seven in the starting line-up, including England’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney, playing his first Premier League game since announcing his international retirement.
RATINGS
CHELSEA
Thibaut Courtois : 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta : 7
David Luiz : 7
Antonio Rudiger : 6
Victor Moses : 6
Cesc Fabregas : 8
N’Golo Kante: 7
Marcos Alonso : 7
Alvaro Morata : 7
Willian: 7
Pedro: 8
SUBSTITUTES
Tiemoue Bakayoko (for Pedro, 75): 6
Michy Batshuayi (for Morata, 78): 5
Andreas Christensen (for Moses, 89): 5
Pedro
EVERTON
Jordan Pickford : 7
Phil Jagielka : 6
Ashley Williams : 6
Michael Keane : 6
Leighton Baines : 6
Mason Holgate : 6
Tom Davies : 5
Idrissa Gueye : 5
Sandro Ramirez : 6
Wayne Rooney : 5
Gylfi Sigurdsson : 6
SUBSTITUTES
Mo Besic (for Davies, 46): 6
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (for Ramirez, 62): 6
Aaron Lennon (for Jagielka, 83): 5
Jordan Pickford
WHO’S UP NEXT?
Leicester v Chelsea (Premier League, September 9 )
Everton v Tottenham (Premier League, September 9 )