Maresca lauds Lavia as 'one of the best midfielders'

Chelsea may have stumbled upon their best starting XI in their 1-0 win at home to Everton.

The crucial change was the addition of midfielder Romeo Lavia, as captain Reece James dropped to the bench, with Moises Caicedo moving to right-back but still stepping into the middle when Chelsea had possession.

Lavia was making his first start in over a month but he was excellent until he had to come off in the 67th minute, which seemed to coincide with a late push from David Moyes' side for an equaliser.

After the match, Enzo Maresca praised the midfielder: "When he is fit, he is one of the best midfielders. He can defend very well, he can attack, he can break the line and pass between the lines.

"I spent one entire season with Romeo when I was Under-23 coach at Manchester City, so I know him very well. For us, it was like Reece James. They are both top players.

"The only shame for us is that unfortunately we need to manage them. We need to protect them, but there is no doubt that Chelsea with Reece and Romeo is a better team."

Striker Nicolas Jackson's ended a 13-game goal drought with a powerful shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute, which also seemed to lift his performance level.

However, Cole Palmer's similar goalless run now stands at 17 matches and his performance declined.

When asked about the pair after the match, Maresca defended Palmer by adding: "We said many times that we don't have doubt with the ones that, for part of the season, have struggled a little bit, like Nico and Cole and Robert [Sanchez].

"Nico finally found the goal today, hopefully Cole can score goals soon but I think his performance was very good."

But Palmer's statistics will be a cause for concern because he was involved in no attacking actions, apart from three crosses, two successful dribbles and a single touch in the opposition box.

Maresca had said before kick-off that the issue with Palmer was a "mental thing" rather than "tactical or technical".

Chelsea jumped up to fourth in the Premier League table and have Champions League qualification in their hands - albeit with a difficult run of fixtures against Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest to end the season.