Premier League news live updates: Chelsea vs Everton latest and ...

Colin Millar

April 15, 2024 at 5:45 PM EDT

Chelsea took on Everton at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening buoyed by the sensational form of Cole Palmer, who came into the game having been involved in 25 goals in his last 22 games.

And it didn’t take the 21-year-old long to get stuck into Sean Dyche’s struggling side, scoring only the 30th first half hat-trick in Premier League history, and a perfect one at that.

At the break it was 4-0, after Nicolas Jackson had capped off a humiliating half for the visitors.

As is often the way in matches when one team takes a big lead early on, there were fewer goals in the second half, although Chelsea did at least make it 5-0 from the spot. Palmer scored it, but only after an argument between a number of the home side’s players over who was going to take it. Alfie Gilchrist’s first-ever Chelsea goal to make it 6-0 was a much more wholesome affair.

The thumping win leaves Chelsea only three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United and with a game in hand too.

Here, we break down some of the main talking points from the game.

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Chelsea 6 Everton 0: Four more goals for Palmer and an argument over penalty duties – The Briefing

Chelsea have made it six and it is a memorable moment for Alfie Gilchrist.

The 20-year-old defender gets on the end of a Ben Chilwell cross and volleys home for his first for the club.

What a moment!

Chelsea 6-0 Everton

Chelsea are 5-0 up.

Cole Palmer is fouled by Abdoulaye Doucoure in the penalty area.

After a squabble over who will take the penalty, Palmer eventually places the ball on the spot and fires it past Jordan Pickford.

Palmer's fourth of the night. Chelsea's fifth.

Chelsea 5-0 Everton.

A dominant half from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Arguably their best half of football this season.

Cole Palmer stealing the show, again.

Chelsea are running riot here.

Marc Cucurella crosses from the left wing.

Nicolas Jackson expertly controls the ball with his left foot and hits a volley past Jordan Pickford with his right.

A fine goal.

Chelsea 4-0 Everton.

...and it's three!

Running out of superlatives for this man.

Jordan Pickford plays a misplaced pass which is intercepted by Palmer who punishes the Everton goalkeeper by chipping him from distance with his weaker right foot.

A hat-trick in 16 minutes and five seconds.

Wow.

Chelsea 3-0 Everton.

It's him again!

He barely gave me enough time to finish my last update, but he has scored again.

Mykailo Mudryk drives down the left wing and cuts the ball back to Nicolas Jackson.

The Senegalese forward's shot is saved but the man of the moment Cole Palmer, is there to head home the rebound.

Chelsea 2-0 Everton.

Chelsea are 1-0 up and it's ANOTHER goal from that man, Cole Palmer.

After nutmegging Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, the midfielder plays a one-two with Nicolas Jackson before curling a fine effort into the corner past Jordan Pickford.

Chelsea 1-0 Everton.

Chelsea have made two changes to the starting XI that drew 2-2 with Sheffield United for their game against Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Axel Disasi and Enzo Fernandez have dropped out of the starting line-up, being replaced by Malo Gusto and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Andre Gomes and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who both started Everton's victory over Burnley, drop out of the starting XI, with Amadou Onana and Beto starting in their place.

Chelsea XI: Petrovic, Gusto, Silva, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Gallagher, Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson.

Everton XI: Pickford, Coleman, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Young, Garner, Onana, McNeil, Doucoure, Beto.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins admits he is enjoying "proving doubters wrong" after continuing his scoring streak by netting in Sunday's Premier League victory at Arsenal.

Watkins, 28, scored Villa's second in their two-goal victory in north London, bringing his tally to 26 this campaign — 19 of which have come in the Premier League.

“I put TalkSPORT on on the way to training the other day and heard Simon Jordan saying that he’s not worried about me or Aston Villa causing Arsenal problems," Watkins said after the win at Arsenal. "It is nice to prove doubters wrong. Nice for him to eat his own words, really.”

The victory moved Villa three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, who have a game in hand, in the Premier League standings as they remain on course to qualify for next season's Champions League.

“We’ve worked so hard here we can’t now next weekend just throw it all away," Watkins said of the race for a top-four finish. "We need to keep building from this, keep going and proving people wrong and show them we can get in to the Champions League.”

Watkins is now just one goal behind Manchester City striker Erling Haaland in the Premier League's Golden Boot race. “I want to score every game and I want to win it. I’ve got my eyes set on it.”

Villa return to action on Thursday night with the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final tie against Lille, before returning to league action on April 21 as they host Bournemouth.

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Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson looks set to miss out on a place at the European Championship after suffering damage to the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

The Bologna captain is due to have surgery on the injury, after which, his club say, a timeline on his recovery will be given.

Ferguson has been a crucial player for Bologna since joining from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen in the summer of 2022. This season, the 24-year-old has contributed six goals and four assists as Bologna have stunned Serie A. Thiago Motta’s side are on track to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League next season, sitting five points ahead of fifth-placed Roma with six matches remaining.

“Devastated with today’s news but that’s life,” Ferguson posted on social media. “I will do everything to come back better and stronger than before. Thank you all for the support. See you soon.”

Ferguson has 12 senior caps for Scotland, who will face hosts Germany, Switzerland and Hungary in their Euros group.

Barcelona are in talks over a contract extension for their exciting young centre-back Pau Cubarsi.

The 17-year-old’s current deal expires in the summer of 2026, but Barca plan to improve it and grant him first-team status as soon as possible.

The defender is still on an academy contract that includes a €10million release clause (£8.5m; $10.6m at current rates) — a standard figure among La Masia talents. Barcelona plan to raise this to €1billion — as they also did with 16-year-old forward Lamine Yamal’s new three-year contract in October.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) says it will review its supporter code of conduct after a “disgraceful” incident where a fan appeared to whip Al Ittihad striker Abderrazak Hamdallah.

Footage shows Hamdallah throwing water over the fan, who then appears to strike the 33-year-old with a whip.

The incident happened following Al Ittihad’s 4-1 Saudi Super Cup final loss against Al Hilal on Thursday, which took place at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

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Everton — as expected — have lodged an appeal against their second points deduction for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The club's first deduction of 10 points was reduced to six on appeal in February.

The Merseyside club have now begun the process of having their most recent two-point penalty — relating to the three-year accounting period ending in the 2022-2023 season — reviewed by an independent appeal board.

The Premier League wants the verdict delivered before the end of the season "for clarity and certainty for all clubs and fans".

A statement on the league's website said: "The Premier League will be seeking to have the appeal resolved urgently with the outcome confirmed in advance of Sunday 19 May, the last day of this season."

Nottingham Forest's appeal against their four-point PSR sanction will be heard in the week commencing April 22.

The Toffees are two points above the relegation zone with seven games of the season remaining.

Here's Matt Slater and Patrick Boyland on how we got here...

GO FURTHER

Everton’s second PSR breach: Why ‘only’ two points this time? Is another deduction possible?

Pedri insists he is "very happy" at Barcelona and believes his side will need to "eat" Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

The Spain international recently recovered from a thigh injury and was a second half substitute in last week's first leg in Paris, providing the assist for Raphinha's second goal. Pedri, 21, was also a substitute in Barcelona's weekend victory at Cadiz.

In terms of his future at Barcelona, Pedri said on Monday: "In that regard, I am very calm. I’m delighted at the club and I know Barca will keep their word in what we spoke to, so I am very happy to stay at the club of my dreams."

Speaking of Tuesday's second leg in Barcelona, Pedri added: "Everyone loves to talk about who is favourite and who is not. But we need to stay prudent because PSG will come over here full of desire to win. They are going to try to turn the tie around, and that’s why we must go out to the pitch and try to eat them."

Barcelona head coach Xavi believes his side's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday will be a "football war".

Xavi's side lead 3-2 from last week's first leg in Paris as they aim to reach their first semi-final of the competition since 2019, when they lost to Liverpool.

When asked how his side would approach the match, Xavi responded: "What we want is to take the ball away from PSG and then go to attack. As I said, it will be a massive football war."

Xavi added the first leg victory was key in giving the team self-belief at competing against Europe's best sides: "We are a goal ahead and that’s great, but for me the most important thing is that we found confirmation that we are ready to compete against one of the best teams in the world. That was very important for us as a club."

Barcelona's home advantage is in Monjuic, with a significantly smaller capacity than their Camp Nou home. Xavi said of the impact of playing in a different stadium: "There are differences, of course. We can’t deny it, it’s not the same. But I am sure the fans will help us and will create a great atmosphere for us."

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Sebastien Haller has been ruled out of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid with an ankle injury.

Haller — scorer of Dortmund's only goal in the 2-1 defeat in the first leg — faces "two or three weeks" out after aggravating an old issue.

The 29-year-old had to be withdrawn nine minutes into his side's 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic said Haller has "injured his ankle again unfortunately".

He added: "He will now have complete rest for a week. There will be a final diagnosis the downtime a little more precisely. We assume he won't be available for two to three weeks."

Haller was making his first start in the Bundesliga since September having returned from the Africa Cup of Nations duty with the same ankle issue.

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Dean Henderson has been a revelation since his return to the Crystal Palace side. There has been significant pressure on him to perform but he has risen to the occasion. At Anfield he made save after save to deny Liverpool and help secure his side an important victory. But in previous games, he has stood firm.

In a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago he was backed by manager Oliver Glasner despite criticism over what some believed to be a mistake for Chris Wood’s goal, but he had handled well from awkward balls into the box. A section of the away end that evening sang his name in support at full-time.

During a 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth on April 2, he dealt capably with the ball fizzing off the wet surface, while he could do little about Manchester City’s goals in a 4-2 loss last week.

It is that block of games which has helped him to put together a run of excellent performances and silence the doubters. A return to the England set-up is far less of a remote possibility than it would have been at the start of the month and would be deserved.

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson is targeting an England recall for this summer’s European Championship after “going through hell and back” over the last year.

The 27-year-old was instrumental in Palace’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday and has enjoyed a strong return to the starting XI after Sam Johnstone sustained an elbow injury on England duty in March.

Henderson himself has endured a torrid time with injuries over the last 12 months. A thigh problem ruled him out of the second half of Nottingham Forest’s campaign last season after making a strong impression on loan.

Read more below

GO FURTHER

Dean Henderson targeting England recall after injury woe at Crystal Palace: ‘I’ve been through hell and back’