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Chelsea finally ended their run of Premier League matches without a clean sheet with a brilliant 2-0 win against Everton on Merseyside – but the win was tainted by an injury to Emi Martinez.
Despite the prowess of Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, it was Pedro Neto who starred on the day as the former Wolves winger got his second and third Premier League goals of the campaign.
Chelsea had not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since Liam Rosenior’s first league game in charge of the club, a 2-0 win over Brentford at Stamford Bridge in January. It was the 23rd game since.
Towards the end of the game, Martinez collided with Everton’s lofty centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite – a defender who has been linked with Chelsea in the past. A nasty collision, Martinez coming off the worse.
He was on the deck for around eight minutes before he was finally ushered onto a stretcher and subbed off. The World Cup winner was replaced by Mike Penders, who helped Chelsea keep a clean sheet.
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This is Chelsea’s first clean sheet in the league since 17th January!
After the match, BBC reporter Nizaar Kinsella confirmed that Martinez travelled straight to hospital after the match to undergo tests and understand the extent of the injury. Alonso then gave an update.
Speaking after the match, Alonso gave an update on Martinez: “As far as I know, he left the stadium conscious, and right now he is at the hospital doing precautionary tests. So let’s see, this is what I know.”
With Martinez going off, Penders came off the bench, having returned to Chelsea in the summer after an excellent loan at Strasbourg. Penders has started both of Chelsea’s games in the Carabao Cup.
But on Saturday, he made his Premier League debut for Chelsea, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for the Blues in England’s top tier. Lenny Pidgeley was Chelsea’s youngest stopper beforehand.
Had Penders made his debut two weeks later, he would not have won the accolade from Pidgeley, with Penders only 11 days younger than Pidgeley was when he came on against Charlton Athletic in 2005.