Morata restores harmony for Blues

The champions were doing what champions do, brushing aside a team nursing ambitions of a top-six finish, and demonstrating the ruthlessness you would normally associate with Chelsea when there is a trophy to defend.

Of course, the great collapse of 2015 under Jose Mourinho changed that certainty about the modern Chelsea but three games into their defence of the title, Conte's team now have two straight victories over good opposition.

It has been a summer of recriminations and blame at Chelsea, of targets missed and questions over those allowed to leave, but it was hard to detect that discord over 94 minutes in which Ronald Koeman's team were not even permitted a shot on target.

Afterwards Conte reiterated his belief that there must be new additions before the window closes on Thursday night although anyone who does arrive will have his work cut out getting into this side.

That opening-day aberration against Burnley is fading from memory with a game that was closely controlled from start to finish and all but over by the 40th minute when Alvaro Morata added the second to Cesc Fabregas' first.

In 90 minutes of striving, and a whole summer of rebuilding, Koeman was left staring into a fierce bank holiday sun wondering if the squad that he has at his disposal is quite what he thought it was.

Both clubs are still in flux as far as the August window goes but you would not known it to look at Chelsea where the parts of the machine worked as efficiently as they had all last season, turning it into a game corralled in Everton's half for much of the first period.

Reminder

Come the end of the international break Chelsea might have added the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Danny Drinkwater to the squad, and Conte is adamant that the schedule in September alone will test his resources.

He acknowledged that "the club is working very hard" at giving him further options but it came with a reminder.

"Don't forget when we start, next month, in September we have to play seven games," he said. "I need to rotate my players because it's very difficult to play seven games in a month.

"I think the club is working very hard to strengthen the squad. They know very well our situation. But, I repeat, I'm ready in every case to continue to work with this group of players."

Koeman made much of the fact that this was his team's third game in seven days, encompassing trips to the Etihad Stadium; to Split in Croatia and then Stamford Bridge.

He has a list of absentees that includes Morgan Schneiderlin, Yannick Bolasie, James McCarthy, Ross Barkley and Seamus Coleman and then had to drop Kevin Mirallas for what the manager suggested was another bout of the Belgian's familiar complaint, that being a rank bad attitude.

Koeman could at least call upon Muhammad Besic, whose father was shot in a gun attack in his home country of Bosnia on Saturday, and the midfielder came on at half-time for Tom Davies who gave the ball away once too often for his manager's liking.

But Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson struggled to have an effect and ahead of those two, Sandro Ramirez found it hard going.

Everton will also address these difficulties over the next few days, balancing what is realistic in terms of signings with those who will come back in the coming weeks and months.

There was mention after the match of Diego Costa as a potential signing with Koeman largely uncommitted on that subject - although whether Chelsea's estranged centre-forward is the answer to Everton's problems is one the club probably need more than four days to decide.

Question

They scarcely asked a question of Chelsea until briefly in the latter stages when Idrissa Gueye struck a shot that Thibaut Courtois judged serious enough to push away for a corner - although even that one was not officially judged as on target.

Everton will have to cope with commitments in Europe these next three months. Tired or not, the team lacked ambition to take the game to Chelsea.

The first goal came when Fabregas hit his shot first time with the outside of his right boot from Morata's knockdown, the persistence of the striker getting him to the ball at the second time of asking.

It was Morata who got up the highest to head in the second five minutes before half-time when Cesar Azpilicueta's cross from the right found him unmarked.

Moments before then, a foul on Victor Moses and Chelsea's subsequent command of possession had convinced referee Jonathan Moss to play the advantage, much to Conte's disgust.

At that point he lost the plot, taking ten strides down the touchline to confront fourth official Andre Marriner who had to point out mid-rant that the club's record signing had just doubled the lead. (© Daily Telegraph, London)