Monday 1 May 2017 09:23, UK
Chelsea's quality in the final third was the deciding factor in Everton’s 3-0 defeat by the league leaders, according to Ronald Koeman.
Second-half strikes from Pedro, Gary Cahill and Willian saw Chelsea edge closer to the Premier League title with a convincing victory at Goodison Park.
Everton had held their own against Antonio Conte's side for 66 minutes but Pedro's wonderful long-range effort proved a key moment in the match as it set Chelsea on their way.
"We did well - up until the first goal," Koeman told Sky Sports.
"But that was because of the high quality of offensive players for Chelsea. Before that we had good control and good defending. We made it tough for Chelsea without creating many open chances.
"The first goal was a great goal. You can't stop those goals. That was the difference - the productivity and quality of Chelsea. It's really tough to beat them. They are the strongest team until now and they showed that after they went 1-0 up.
"I can be happy about the team performance especially as we were missing five or six key players. We had three young players in and they did well."
The defeat for Everton was their first home defeat of 2017 and they remain in seventh in the Premier League, eight points behind Manchester City in fourth.
The gap to West Brom in eighth is 14 points, therefore a top-seven place is all-but guaranteed, however, Koeman doesn't want his team to drop their level of performance between now and the end of the season.
"We need to find the motivation to finish the season strongly," he said.
"It will be difficult to catch the teams above us. We can be happy about the season but I'd like to finish well."
