Everton’s Defensive Display Holds Chelsea Stalemate As The Points Are Shared

Second place Chelsea was going into the game as more than likely winners; however, similar to last weekend, a strong and disciplined defensive display by Sean Dyche’s back line forced a goalless draw, forcing Chelsea to a stalemate.

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Lineups:

Everton:

Pickford

Young

Branthwaite

Tarkowski

Mykolenko

Gueye

Mangala

Doucoure

Harrison

Calvert-Lewin

Ndiaye

Chelsea:

Sanchez

Disasi

Adarabioyo

Colwill

Gusto

Neto

Fernandez

Sancho

Palmer

Caicedo

Jackson

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To begin the first half, Nicolas Jackson had the possibility to open the scoring and even to expand the advantage to two. As Pedro Neto ran down the right-hand side, laying it off to Cole Palmer, who dragged it across goal in the penalty area into the path of Jackson, it was a 1v1 against England’s goalkeeper. The pressure from Ashley Young behind the Senegalese striker, as well as Pickford making his body big, forced a fluffed shot towards the goalkeeper, hitting Malo Gusto’s head as it travelled out for a goal kick.

Not long after, Chelsea had a corner crossed into it, and it landed in the path of Jackson only a few yards from goal. Luckily for the Toffees, the low header struck the post, and the follow-up from Gusto was denied after a desperate attempt to block the shot from the Everton goalkeeper.

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Nicolas Jackson Chelsea Stats:

Appearances: 61

Goals: 26

Assists: 9

Yellow Cards: 15

Red Cards: 0

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The biggest chance for Everton in the second half came from Belgian loanee midfielder Orel Mangala. After a wonderful skill move from Iliman Ndiaye, fooling both Disasi and Caicedo, passing it through the legs of the midfielder into the feet of Abdoulaye Doucoure, he laid it into the path of Mangala. With space at the edge of the box, the opportunity was present to have a possible shot on goal, which the 26-year-old took. The ball seemed to be heading for the bottom left-hand corner of the Park End net, but a strong stretch and hand by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez forced the ball away.

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Orel Mangala Everton Stats:

Appearances: 14

Goals: 1

Assists: 0

Yellow Cards: 0

Red Cards: 0

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In the second half you could argue that Everton were surprisingly the better side! Although the reoccurring theme of solid defensive performances but lacklustre attacking continued, Everton were showing signs of improvement. One chance that could have given the Toffees the lead was when Jack Harrison was in a perfect opportunity to slice the ball into the net from close range. It certainly wasn’t a favourable angle for Harrison, but at that position you would favour the attacker. A poor shot into Sanchez could’ve been placed a lot more precisely into the other corner if the winger had opened his body more. However, this wasn’t the case, and Everton missed the chance to take the advantage, arguably the biggest moment in the game.

As the game continued on, the solid defence of Everton continued to win every duel against Chelsea’s attack, and the game ended as a 0-0 draw, a point Everton will be more pleased with than Enzo Maresca’s side. Although, in the Chelsea boss’ post-match interview, he revealed that he was pleased with the result and that Goodison Park is a difficult place to go to, also praising the Everton defence.

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Enzo Maresca Chelsea Stats:

Matches: 26

Won: 18

Draws: 4

Lost: 4

Win Percentage: 69%

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On the other hand, Everton manager Sean Dyche, in his post-match interview, mentioned how proud he is of the squad, claiming, “They have been through a storm.” All that is needed from the Blues now to stop battling against relegation is goals, and with the January transfer window opening in a matter of days, as well as new owners, The Friedkin Group, Director of Football Kevin Thelwell now has sufficient cash to spend to solve the problem.

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Matchday 17:

Saturday 21st December:

Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City

Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Ipswich 0-4 Newcastle

West Ham 1-1 Brighton

Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal

Sunday 22nd December:

Everton 0-0 Chelsea

Fulham 0-0 Southampton

Leicester 0-3 Wolves

Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth

Tottenham Hotspur 3-6 Liverpool

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Thank you for reading my match report!