Chelsea climb into the top four and end NINE-MONTH wait for a clean sheet – as Mike Penders proves he is ready to seize his chance after Emiliano Martinez’s brual injury at Everton
Kieran Gill at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
At first, a few Everton fans suspected Emiliano Martinez was time-wasting. Then the seriousness of the situation sunk in. Chelsea’s goalkeeper was faking nothing.
He had collided with Jarrad Branthwaite, who is a hulk of a man, when bravely coming to clear a set-piece after 67 minutes. It floored him as his Chelsea team-mates immediately signalled for help. What followed were almost 10 minutes of no football; only concern for Martinez as Joao Pedro had a royal pop at the paramedics for hardly rushing with the stretcher.
This was not how Mike Penders – Chelsea’s 21-year-old goalkeeper whose potential is high – wanted to make his Premier League debut. He had hoped to earn his opportunity eventually. But here, Penders was thrown in at the deep end as Martinez was taken away.
Nevertheless, using two goalkeepers, Chelsea secured their first clean sheet since January. They had conceded in each of their last 22 league games. They had waited nine months for this. Martinez refused to allow Everton to score, and then Penders took over from there, even seeing through the 11 minutes of stoppage time added on to the end.
Stopping Everton from scoring will have pleased Xabi Alonso as much as the way Chelsea continued their kick-off glitch. Chelsea got the second half going, and yet again, they scored within a minute. It was Pedro Neto with the goal, Jorrel Hato with the assist, and Morgan Rogers with the inventive back heel in the build-up. With that, Chelsea led 1-0, just 43 seconds after kicking off.
Pedro Neto broke the deadlock inside the first minute of the second half
Morgan Rogers got in to another off-the-ball bust up this time with the Everton’s James Tarkowski, both recieved a yellow card for their antics
Rogers was lucky not to receive a second yellow moments later after colliding strongly with James Garner
Hato was not even supposed to be starting. Pep Chavarria was earmarked to be Chelsea’s left wing back. But he picked up a problem despite travelling to the Hill Dickinson Stadium and so had to drop out of the squad. Hato replaced him, and was crucial in this opener being scored.
Neto later added Chelsea’s second goal just as the 11 minutes of stoppage time were announced. That was timed well, and it came from a 25-yard free-kick. Chelsea’s supporters had been chanting ‘Hendo again, ole, ole’. They wanted a repeat of his goal from last weekend against Bournemouth. Jordan Henderson tried, but struck the wall. The ball fell kindly for Neto, however.
Everton tried sending balls into the box, but Penders was clean enough in collecting them.
Emi Martinez suffered a nasty blow to the head half way through the second half that forced the Argentinian to leave the pitch on a stretcher
Neto put the game to bed with an calm finish in stoppage time
Per sources, Penders was confident of succeeding Robert Sanchez when the 28-year-old Spaniard went into this season as Chelsea’s No 1. Even Liam Rosenior preferred Filip Jorgensen to Sanchez for a while during his doomed tenure in charge of the club, so Penders believed he was capable of taking over as first choice at some stage in 2026-27.
Yet Daily Mail Sport has heard how Penders’ confidence waned when Martinez was then signed from Aston Villa on a two-year contract with the option of a further year. The 34-year-old Argentinian replaced Sanchez, who was sent to Como after a poor performance in Chelsea’s season-opening win at Fulham. That is a dry loan with no option or obligation included, and Sanchez is currently second-choice to Jean Butez under Cesc Fabregas.
Martinez’s arrival surprised Penders, who had spent the summer hearing Alonso say he was happy with his goalkeeping set-up and would not be signing a new No 1. According to a source close to the goalkeeping situation at Chelsea, Penders felt the sudden signing of Martinez pushed him further away from a starting place and changed the complexion of his coming campaign.
Yet Martinez’s injury here gave him his first chance in the Premier League, and more opportunities may follow, depending on how long his competition will be sidelined.
