Cole Palmer showed his importance to Chelsea as the England international found the net to help the Blues put a difficult run of form behind them with a 2-0 victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer was left out of the squad for the defeat against Atalanta in midweek as he continues to manage a groin injury, but he was fit enough to start against David Moyes' in-form Everton, and he impacted the game early on his first Stamford Bridge start in almost four months.

Malo Gusto's incisive pass on 21 minutes split Everton wide open and Palmer was the beneficiary, firing home powerfully past Jordan Pickford to give Chelsea the lead.

"We said many times with Cole [Palmer] we are a better team," Blues boss Enzo Maresca said. "Unfortunately he was out for many games for us, but now he's back and for sure he will help us."

The goal was just the tonic for Chelsea, who were without a win in their last three Premier League games as their season was threatening to derail ahead of the Christmas period, but Maresca's side were clinical against Everton, whose last win at Chelsea came in 1994.

After a really good spell for Everton which saw James Tarkowski head wide and Jack Grealish denied by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a tight angle, Gusto converted a sharp counter-attack from the hosts to put them firmly in the ascendancy going into the break.

Chelsea's dominance continued after the break but Maresca wasn't willing to take any chances with Palmer's fitness, taking him off just before the hour mark with his job done.

Once again, Everton, who had the chance to go above Chelsea with a win, did have chances. Grealish missed a golden opportunity to bring Everton back into the game with a shot on the slide that sailed across goal and wide before Reece James was denied from a free-kick by a fine save from Pickford.

The final chance was Everton's, Iliman Ndiaye rolling the ball against the post with Robert Sanchez beaten, but Chelsea, with the first-half goals from the returning Palmer and Gusto, had done enough to get back to winning ways and up to fourth in the Premier League table, while David Moyes' wait for a win at Stamford Bridge goes on.

Maresca: I've had my 'worst 48 hours' at Chelsea due to lack of support

In his post-match press conference, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca revealed he had suffered his "worst 48 hours" since joining Chelsea after the win over Everton.

The Italian hit out at unnamed parties for failing to support him and his players, though he stressed that he was not referring to fans.

"The last 48 hours has been the worst since I joined the club because many people didn't support me and the team," he said. "In general."

Asked whether he was talking about the club's supporters, he added: "I love the fans and we are very happy with the fans."

'The reaction was good'

After four winless matches, Maresca was delighted with their response against in-form Everton.

He told Sky Sports: "I'm happy. It's important to win games after the two or three we didn't win. It's important for the players. We are happy.

"The reaction was good. The players want to win every game. Sometimes we struggle a little bit more, sometimes we are able to win the game. In this moment it was very important for the players to win the game.

"We missed chances. You have to be clinical.

"The game is always open. But overall, I'm happy with the performance."

Teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James (c), Enzo; Neto, Palmer (Andrey Santos 58), Garnacho (Gittens 65), Joao Pedro (Estevao Willian 80).
Unusedsubs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Badiashile, Tosin, Hato, Guiu
Scorers: Palmer 21, Gusto 45
Booked: Fofana

Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski (c), Keane, Mykolenko; Gana, Garner (Iroegbunam 84); Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall (Alcaraz 16), Grealish (Dibling 84); Barry (Beto 68).
Unused subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Aznou, Campbell.

Att: 39,552

Referee: Thomas Bramall