Cole Palmer showed his importance to Chelsea as the England international found the net to help the Blues put a difficult run of form behind them with a 2-0 victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer was left out of the squad for the defeat against Atalanta in midweek as he continues to manage a groin injury, but he was fit enough to start against David Moyes' in-form Everton, and he impacted the game early.
Malo Gusto's incisive pass on 21 minutes split Everton wide open and Palmer was the beneficiary, firing home powerfully past Jordan Pickford to give Chelsea the lead.
It was just the tonic for Chelsea, who were without a win in their last three Premier League games as their season was threatening to derail ahead of the Christmas period, but Maresca's side were clinical.
After a really good spell for Everton which saw James Tarkowski head wide and Jack Grealish denied by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a tight angle, Gusto converted a sharp counter-attack from the hosts to put them firmly in the ascendancy going into the break.
Chelsea's dominance continued after the break but Maresca wasn't willing to take any chances with Palmer's fitness, taking him off just before the hour mark.
Once again, Everton, who had the chance to go above Chelsea with a win, did have chances as Grealish fluffed his lines after latching onto Carlos Alcaraz's excellent cross, while Pickford needed to be at the top of his game to keep out a dipping Reece James free-kick.
However, the first-half goals from the returning Palmer and Gusto were enough to see Chelsea back to winning ways and up to fourth in the Premier League table.
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