Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso says goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was conscious when he left Hill Dickinson Stadium for hospital on Saturday, following a heavy collision with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite. The Argentine was undergoing precautionary tests, Alonso said, after a 2-0 win in Liverpool that was overshadowed by the sight of Chelsea’s goalkeeper leaving the pitch on a stretcher. Pedro Neto scored both goals, in the 46th and 90th minutes.
The clash came in the second half as Martinez rushed off his line to meet an in-swinging free kick from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He punched the ball away but collided with Branthwaite, who had risen to head it towards goal, and his head hit the turf as he landed. Medical staff from both clubs attended to the two players, and play was held up for about 10 minutes while Martinez received treatment and was fitted with a neck brace. Branthwaite passed a concussion check and played on.
“As far as I know he left the stadium conscious,” Alonso told TNT Sports after the match. He added that the goalkeeper was “at the hospital doing precautionary tests” and that the club would wait for the results. Everton defender James Tarkowski said match officials told him Martinez had been “out cold” after the impact.
Some Everton supporters booed as Martinez was carried off. His teammates responded differently, with Neto dedicating the win and the clean sheet to the goalkeeper. Mike Penders, the 21-year-old Belgian signed from Genk in the summer, came on for his Premier League debut and kept Everton out for the rest of the game.
The match statistics point to a controlled Chelsea performance. Alonso’s side had 53 per cent of possession and attempted 16 shots to Everton’s five, with five on target. The contest was also physical, with seven yellow cards shown, four to Chelsea and three to Everton.
The result was Everton’s first league defeat of the season. Before Saturday, the Merseyside club had won two and drawn four of their opening six matches, and they now sit seventh on 10 points. Chelsea moved to 13 points from seven games, with four wins, one draw and two defeats, level with Brighton and eight points behind leaders Manchester City, who have won all seven matches.
The injury comes barely seven weeks into Martinez’s Chelsea career. He joined from Aston Villa on August 30 on a three-year contract, for a fee put at about £7.5 million, after Robert Sanchez was criticised for errors in Chelsea’s 3-2 opening day win at Fulham. Martinez made his debut within hours of the move being completed, in a 4-3 home win over Brighton, and has since been Alonso’s first-choice goalkeeper.
He arrived with one of the strongest records in English football. Martinez made 256 appearances for Villa after joining from Arsenal in 2020, and his 60 Premier League clean sheets over that period were bettered by only four other goalkeepers. He helped Villa win the Europa League in May, and at international level he won the 2022 World Cup and the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 with Argentina, who finished runners-up at the 2026 World Cup.
Head injuries have drawn increasing attention in English football in recent years. Since 2021, the Premier League has allowed teams to make additional permanent substitutions for players with suspected concussion, and protocols require medical clearance before a player returns to action. How long Martinez could be out will depend on the outcome of the tests Alonso referred to.
Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge next Saturday, October 24. Spurs are bottom of the table without a win in six games. If Martinez is ruled out, Alonso will have to choose between Penders, who impressed on his debut, and Sanchez, who lost his place after the opening weekend.