Alonso knows minimum Chelsea requirement after ending nine-month wait

Jordan Pickford went the length of the pitch to show his concern for his fellow goalkeeper, while Jarrad Branthwaite stood by Emiliano Martinez for most of the ten minutes it took to safely move the Chelsea man onto a stretcher.

The only real concern after this match was that Martinez recovers fully after being taken from the field with his neck and head needing support. He managed to give a thumbs-up to Branthwaite, which was slightly promising.

The second-half collision had been purely accidental, albeit one that took place in the context of a quite ill-tempered occasion. And for Chelsea to come through this feisty meeting with a win and a clean sheet will certainly give Xabi Alonso huge encouragement.

Never mind that it is Alonso’s first campaign as a Premier League manager, anything less than a Chelsea title challenge will represent failure.

It might well drag on and on but you can safely take Manchester City out of the equation, and Liverpool and Manchester United have shown little to suggest they can pose a serious threat to Arsenal.

Get our comprehensive football coverage, with news, updates, opinions, analysis and everything that matters to you, straight to your inbox.

To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two:

1. Head THIS WAY

Make sure you don't miss sport's biggest stories and breaking news by making the Daily Mirror one of your Google preferred sources.

The champions themselves have been efficient without being mightily impressive. With no European football to distract and fatigue them - and a squad that gives Alonso myriad options - there really is no excuse for Chelsea should they repeat last season’s mediocre efforts.

One of the things that has already improved under Alonso is the team’s discipline, after a category-leading eight red cards last season.

That discipline was sorely tested by an Everton side that does not shirk the physical battle. In large parts, this was indeed a distinctly fractious contest and Chelsea were fortunate to get to half-time with a full quota, Paul Tierney deciding against an obvious second yellow card for Morgan Rogers when he endangered James Garner just before half-time.

Garner’s undramatic reaction helped his England team-mate. And Garner probably regretted his sportsmanship when a Rogers reverse-pass began the move that led to Pedro Neto’s opener.

It was a nice assist from Jarrel Hato but Pickford’s involvement is, from an Everton and the England keeper’s point of view, best forgotten.

It is fair to say Pickford - under pressure from James Trafford for his place in the national team - has not had the most convincing opening to his club season. And when Pickford errs, it can be more significant than is standard in the Premier League. That is because a David Moyes team is normally less than prolific.

Everton scored 47 times last season and now have eight from seven this season. When Everton finished fourth under Moyes in 2004-05, they scored 45 goals in amassing 61 points. They had a negative goal difference.

Moyes is never going to be the great entertainer. But he is the great organiser. With organisation, comes strength.

And after the serious injury to Martinez, Everton’s strength threatened an equaliser but Chelsea showed an unfamiliar defensive resilience before Neto wrapped up matters with his second. Alonso’s first - and sole - concern will, of course, be for Martinez. But when and if he allows himself a reflection on the football, this was most definitely a statement of intent.