Chelsea maintained their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table this evening courtesy of a late 1-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts finally found the breakthrough in the last minute of normal time as Willian's deflected effort went in moments after Gareth Barry had been shown a second yellow card for Everton.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during the midweek match in West London.

CHELSEA

Goal

Petr Cech: Recalled to the starting lineup ahead of Thibaut Courtois and justified his selection. Made one good save to deny Lukaku in the first half and another incredible one to thwart the same player from point-blank range after the break. (8/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Played more like a right-winger, looking to get forward whenever possible and often ending up in a centre-forward position. (7/10)

Kurt Zouma: Pace, power and athleticism - the young defender seems to have it all. Was the perfect foil for Lukaku, sweeping up whenever the striker looked like breaking free down his side. Cahill faces a fight for his place back. (7/10)

John Terry: Afforded Lukaku a bit too much space for a chance in the first half and was nowhere to be seen when the Belgian spurned a glorious opportunity in the second period. Put in a good performance overall, though, and claimed yet another clean sheet. (7/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Perhaps could have helped Hazard out a bit more going forward, but defensively he kept Lennon and Coleman quiet down his flank. (7/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Such a commanding presence in the middle of the park. Carried the ball very well and was a key part in Chelsea's dominance for long periods of the match. (8/10)

Ramires: Kept Fabregas out of the side tonight but may find himself relegated back to the bench next time out. Worked hard and didn't do much wrong, but neither could he really make an impact on the game. (6/10)

Juan Cuadrado: A bright full debut for the winger, who was one of Chelsea's more dangerous players in the first half. Faded a little as the match wore on, but plenty of promise shown. (7/10)

Willian: Got the crucial winning goal with his late deflected effort, having been deployed in a more central role than usual to accommodate Cuadrado. (7/10)

Eden Hazard: Such a tricky customer for defenders to deal with. His jinking runs caused Everton all sorts of problems and he consistently looked like Chelsea's most likely route for a goal. He was a class apart at times today. (8/10)

Attack

Loic Remy: Always looking provide the movement needed to open up a stubborn Chelsea defence, but it was a thankless task tonight. Chelsea will be glad to have Diego Costa back available now. (6/10)

Substitutes

Cesc Fabregas: Came on with 20 minutes remaining and contributed to the increasing pressure on the Everton defence. (6/10)

Didier Drogba: Replaced Remy as Chelsea looked for a different way through. Also helped to ramp up the pressure on the defence but didn't have a major say in the winner. (6/10)

Gary Cahill: Introduced in stoppage time to help Chelsea see out the slender victory. (6/10)

EVERTON

Goal

Tim Howard: Made a string of good saves, even though they were all stops he'd have expected to pull off. Was only beaten by a deflected effort during a confident return from injury. (7/10)

Defence

Seamus Coleman: Could not focus on his attacking qualities with Hazard a constant threat down his side. Coped with the Belgian as well as anyone could hope to, but it was a difficult evening. (6/10)

Phil Jagielka: Helped his side to resist the constant waves of blue shirts coming at them until the late winner. Unfortunate to see such a spirited performance come to nothing in the end. (7/10)

John Stones: Another confident performance when faced with a difficult test. Chelsea had 21 shots but no really clear chances as Everton did a good job of defending their penalty area. (7/10)

Bryan Oviedo: Provided the cross from which Lukaku should have scored from close range. Was kept busy by Cuadrado and Willian but, on the whole, dealt with them well. (7/10)

Midfield

Muhamed Besic: Picked up his customary booking in the first half and was taken off at the break having struggled to shackle Chelsea in the opening 45 minutes. (5/10)

Gareth Barry: Helped to pack out the edge of his box and provided another body that Chelsea found it tough to play through. However, his early yellow left him walking a tightrope and he finally fell late on with a deserved second booking. (5/10)

Aaron Lennon: Didn't get many chances to shine on his full debut and, when he did, he failed to make the most of them. He will hope that better days are to come as he looks to resurrect his ailing career. (5/10)

Ross Barkley: Played one or two probing passes down the channels for Lukaku but struggled to really affect the game due to Chelsea's dominance. (6/10)

Steven Naismith: Worked hard for the team but did not get a chance to influence the match in an attacking sense as he spent most of his time on the back foot. (6/10)

Attack

Romelu Lukaku: Denied by a wonderful save from Cech when only a couple of yards out. While the keeper deserves credit, Lukaku should be scoring from there. Also spurned another good chance in the first half when he was again stopped by Cech. Was a useful outlet for the visitors at time, though. (6/10)

Substitutes

James McCarthy: Came on for Besic at half time but could do nothing to prevent Chelsea launching attack after attack. (6/10)

Darron Gibson: Replaced Barkley with a little over 15 minutes left and had one looping header that was simple for Cech. (6/10)

Kevin Mirallas: Came on at the same time as Gibson in a double change but failed to trouble the Chelsea defence on the counter. (6/10)