In-form Everton dismiss Chelsea at Goodison to strengthen position
Mauricio Pochettino made sweeping changes to his Chelsea side after their dreadful display in Manchester in midweek, and his side were quick out of the traps on their second trip to the north west of the week.
Enzo Fernández’s early drive drew a smart save from Jordan Pickford, who was forced into more strenuous work to keep Cole Palmer’s long-range strike out of the top corner.
The Toffees grew into the contest, and nearly opened the scoring in spectacular fashion when Jack Harrison’s sweetly-struck volley drifted narrowly wide.
Quality in the final third was at a premium, but even with defences on top, both were dealt a blow as Ashley Young and Reece James were forced off injured before the interval.
Sean Dyche’s men had the momentum before the break, and they were the first to threaten after the restart as Dwight McNeil’s low drive forced Robert Sánchez into an impressive stop.
The Spaniard was then on hand to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin after he was slotted in by McNeil, but there was nothing he could do to keep out Abdoulaye Doucouré on the rebound, as his low strike fizzed into the bottom corner.
The Blues introduced Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson as they pushed for a leveller, but Pickford remained relatively untroubled in the Everton goal despite persistent Chelsea pressure.
The visitors found no way through, and even conceded again in stoppage time as Lewis Dobbin rifled home his first goal for the Toffees after substitute goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović flapped at a corner.
A first set of back-to-back defeats under Pochettino’s stewardship drops the beleaguered Blues into the bottom-half, while Everton secured a fifth victory from their last six home H2H meetings as their resurgence continues.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton)
