Chelsea defeated Everton 1-0 on Thursday night at Goodison Park to keep their title hopes alive while putting a dent in Everton's Champions League dreams.

The only time Everton threatened Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech in the first half was when a Manuel Fernandes free kick forced the keeper to uncomfortably parry the ball. Chelsea dominated possession in the first half, but did not have any good shots on goal until near the break.

In the 41st minute, Michael Essien got the ball to Sean Wright-Phillips, who then put in a return pass that deflected off defender Phil Jagielka and into the path of the Ghana star, who then put it past American keeper Tim Howard for a 1-0 Chelsea lead.

Jon Obi Mikel almost made it two on a shot from long range, but Howard tipped over the bar.

Neither team challenged the opposing keeper much for the rest of the match, and a Fernandes free kick that went just wide of the post was the closest the Toffees got to an equalizer.

Everton are now five points behind rivals Liverpool, who hold the last Champions League spot in fourth place. The Toffees host Aston Villa on April 27th.

Scoring
CHE - Michael Essien 41'

Line-ups
EVE - Tim Howard; Joleon Lescott, Tony Hibbert, Phil Neville, Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka, Lee Carsley, Steven Pienaar (Victor Anichebe 63'), Manuel Fernandes, Andrew Johnson (Thomas Gravesen 62'), Ayegbeni Yakubu

CHE - Petr Čech; Ashley Cole, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Shaun Wright-Phillips (Claude Makélélé 81'), Joe Cole (Florent Malouda 76'), Michael Essien, John Mikel Obi, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou