The Toffees emerged victorious at Goodison Park against Chelsea on Saturday. An exciting encounter saw the hosts clinch all three points in a game where the visitors, on the basis of league positioning, were certainly the favourites.
The game started off with a bang as Richarlison scored in the 5th minute to hand his team the lead. The rest of the first half was mostly Chelsea keeping hold of possession but to no avail as they lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
The second half started on a similar note with Calvert-Lewin handing the hosts a two-goal advantage only to be halved by Kovacic’s long-range effort. Chelsea kept hold of the ball most of the second half but their below-average finishing cost them the game as Calvert-Lewin grabbed a brace with a late goal to put the game to rest.
Duncan Ferguson, Everton’s former player and new manager, will be delighted with his first game with a victory over 4th placed Chelsea, whereas Lampard will be disappointed not to have taken away the three points from Merseyside.
Defensive woes
Chelsea, though excellent in the attacking third for most of this season, have been lacking confidence and leadership in defence. This was again exhibited as Zouma and Christensen were unable to put in a convincing performance at the heart of the defence.
Azpilicueta was once again deployed as left-back as James took the right-back spot. The Spaniard looked solid defensively but didn’t trouble the opponents in the attacking half at all. The Blues will be hoping to solidify the defence one way or another if they are to hold on to a top-four berth.
New manager bounce?
The term ‘new manager bounce’ has been thrown around a lot lately, when a new manager comes to the helm of a struggling club to give them a few much needed wins and then go back to struggling.
With Ferguson having taken charge of Everton, he would be more than delighted with the response his players have shown to get a huge win against the west London giants. The coming weeks will show if this is just a flash in the pan or if the new boss is able to bring his club back to the more familiar top half of the table.
Wasteful wingers
Willian and Pulisic started on the right and left-wing respectively alongside Abraham. Pulisic was kept quiet most of the game by Sidibe who had a wonderful outing while Willian was wasteful and indecisive in the opposition box time and again.
Mason Mount got into some good positions but was unable to convert any of them. Tammy Abraham didn’t look his usual clinical self as well, part of which could be due to having returned from injury a few days back. But the wingers especially Willian were very poor and could’ve created much better chances with the space they were afforded.
The Toffees’ No. 9
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has shown a lot of promise since last season which hasn’t been fully displayed yet. The 22-year-old English starlet has shown moments of brilliance in the past without impressing too much. On Saturday, he seemed much more confident and clinical in front of goal.
This new mojo could be due to the new manager or to put on a good showing for his new boss as he will still be figuring out his favoured XI. Either way, if he continues running into pockets like he did, his pace and finishing could be lethal and exactly what the Toffees require after a poor start to the season where they’re placed 14th on the table.
Up Next:
Everton go to Old Trafford on Sunday to visit an in-form Manchester United coming off the back of consecutive victories against Spurs and Manchester City while Lampard’s men host an injury-plagued Bournemouth side.
