Saturday heralded the start of a new era for Chelsea but there was a lot that felt familiar.
An awkward time at Goodison Park, the feeling of being overawed by an aggressive Everton side encouraged by a confrontational home crowd.
The opener played out in a very similar fashion to the clash back in April that sparked much disappointment. The only difference this time was the defining mistake was made by Abdoulaye Doucoure to concede a penalty when it was Cesar Azpilicueta last time. Although it took over 100 minutes, Thomas Tuchel gained Chelsea's first win at Everton for five years with his new signings offering encouragement.
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Although Chelsea walked into the interval 1-0 up thanks to a Jorginho penalty and having had most of the ball, the half was tinged with a sense of old frailties. Frank Lampard used similar tactics, trying to starve the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James of influence whilst looking to use physicality to unsettle a technically superior opponent.
The lack of a natural forward cost Everton here, as the speed of Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon certainly prompted concerns that an older back-three could be isolated. But the superb timing and wisdom of Thiago Silva, and some precise tackling from debutant Kalidou Koulibaly did enough.
Focusing in on Raheem Sterling, Chelsea fans were given enough encouragement to feel their new attacker will fit in well and get good opportunities to score goals. 55 touches on the afternoon were more than enough to keep him involved, particularly when the marquee attacker of last summer, Romelu Lukaku, dropped as low as seven.
He again was used in a free role by Tuchel behind (or around) Kai Havertz and Mount who tended to drift wider. Like against Udinese, this gave Sterling the freedom to roam, float to either side and construct moves, before bursting into the box and picking up dangerous positions.
Although the dream of a debut goal was halted by an offside flag, that move showcased the relentless intensity Tuchel stressed in pre-season, making the same movement again and again.
His low centre of gravity and body strength held off bigger players and kept balance, things other of Chelsea's smaller attackers struggle to handle.
It would have been poetic if two of Chelsea's marquee summer deals combined for a goal and it nearly happened in the closing minutes when Marc Cucurella delivered a perfectly weighted cross into Sterling in the centre of the box.
This reflected more of Sterling's best work for England, starting and finishing a move. Rather than an offside flag, it was Vitaliy Mykolenko who prevented a second goal.
On the negative side, questions still face Tuchel over Chelsea's creativity and ability to construct high-quality opportunities when faced with a low block.
The tactic of giving Sterling a free role meant that Havertz and Mount filled wider roles, which sometimes meant there was no central attacker to aim for or trouble Everton's back-three. A problem that was slightly fixed when Armando Broja came on later in the game.
Havertz did very little to give the impression he is ready to take up the mantle of Tuchel's leading goalscorer, albeit his wide positioning did not help.
Tuchel spoke of wanting a "fluid" attack in Friday's press conference akin to that of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which is certainly in keeping with the decision to sign Sterling and the best work of Tuchel so far at Chelsea during the Champions League winning run in 2021. But as the weeks pass and we get closer to deadline day, the allure of signing another attacking player will grow.
An xG of 1.92 is boosted by Jorginho's penalty, with the highest xG of any chance being Sterling's blocked effort. Lukaku leaving probably gets Tuchel closer to his ideals, however, the lack of risk in Chelsea's approach and reliance on individual quality could be holding them back.
This could be reflected Todd Boehly's discussions with Barcelona over Frenkie de Jong, a creative midfielder who could offer a new dimension to a midfield that can sometimes feel pretty one-dimensional and solely focused on controlling possession.
In the case of formations, little has changed. Chelsea defended in their usual 5-2-3 shape, switching to a 3-2-5 in possession.
Although they did not dominate, it felt notable that the penalty came from Ben Chilwell making the inward run into the box that became so effective in the autumn of last year. The addition of Cucurella only adds more threat to a dangerous area.
Although this game was not filled with events, fans should not grumble at the Blues getting over the line at a ground where wins have been non-existent since 2017. Vast improvement is needed before facing an inspired Spurs led by Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
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