Everton's Triple Change Not Enough To Comeback From Self-Inflicted Deficit

Everton’s second-half turnaround was not enough to come back from the one-goal deficit caused by the Toffees own mistake in the second half.

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Lineups:

Chelsea:

Sanchez

Caicedo

Chalobah

Colwill

Cucurella

Fernandez

Lavia

Madueke

Palmer

Neto

Jackson

Everton:

Pickford

Mykolenko

Branthwaite

O'Brien

Patterson

Gueye

Garner

Harrison

Doucoure

Ndiaye

Beto

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The pressure going into this fixture was entirely on Chelsea, as they are looking to gain UEFA Champions League qualification this season, with David Moyes’ side already safe from the drop, which would have relieved many Evertonians during the Sean Dyche era. The Scottish manager has turned the squad around in terms of both morale and performances on the pitch. However, it was clear to see that one portion of the pitch is poor again today, and work is to be done, and that is the final third. The sheer amount of chances in the second half for the Blues left the away supporters visibly frustrated when referee Christopher Kavanagh blew the whistle to conclude the game.

Back to the start of the fixture, Chelsea started brightly, with Noni Madueke being involved, who was certainly one of the better players on the pitch today. When the English winger got the better of Nathan Patterson, who has been brought in ahead of an injured James Tarkowski, cutting in right just outside the penalty area, striking a guided shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the Shed End stand. Fortunately, cat-like reflexes saved the Toffees for that period of play as Jordan Pickford stretched to palm the ball away from danger, allowing it to head out for a corner. Everton’s keeper was called into action again, as Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernandes whipped a high ball into the Toffees’ penalty area from a free kick. Pickford had no choice but to punch it away; unfortunately, the poor jab fell into the path of Marco Cucurella, who fluffed the shot whilst being unmarked just behind the penalty spot and headed out for a goal kick.

The chances Chelsea had of punishing Everton had already shown a clear indication of the inevitable. After Beto received the ball inside the Everton half, facing the wrong direction to the opposing goal, the Portuguese striker was unable to lay the pass back to the midfield and, whilst being pressed by both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandes, lost possession of the ball before the Argentinian played a firm pass, breaking the set-up of David Moyes’ midfield line into Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson. With a first-time touch, the 23-year-old turned to face towards Pickford before smashing one into the bottom left-hand corner, scoring his first goal in 4.5 months, giving Chelsea the one-goal deficit going into the half-time interval. During the break, Moyes brought Iliman Ndiaye off, replacing the 25-year-old with Charley Alcaraz, who joined the Blues on loan from Brazilian side Flamengo in January after producing 5 goal contributions in 19 appearances in Série A. A questionable decision to take off such a talent; however, competition is key, and Alcaraz certainly proved his worth of why he should be a permanent signing for next season when Everton move into Bramley Moore Dock.

The second half began in a similar way. When Pedro Neto played a short corner into Madueke, who had the ball at his feet at the front post, the winger easily shrugged off Ukrainian fullback Vitaly Mykolenko before turning and having a shot at goal. The tight angle went in the favour of the Toffees, as Pickford scurried over to that post to keep the ball out of the back of the net, which would have caused a disastrous start to the second half, perhaps already putting the game to bed, as Everton’s problems lie in goal-scoring at the moment, with Moyes understanding that, as in his post-match interview with BBC Sport, the 62-year-old stated that the team were “lacking the quality to get the finish.”

Finally it was Everton’s turn to have a decent chance at goal when Jack Harrison picked up the ball, dinking it into the path of Beto. Trying to make up for his self-inflicted mistake in the first half, giving Chelsea the advantage, the Portuguese striker struck a volley with some power. It looked like it was bound to go in; however, Robert Sanchez, who was perhaps Chelsea’s Man of the Match today, got down low just in time to pull off a world-class save to keep Enzo Maresca’s side in it!

A chance to see what the substitutes can do, allowing Moyes to experiment with the players currently at hand, the Everton manager brought off Jack Harrison, Nathan Patterson and Beto, replacing them with Dwight McNeil, Ashley Young and Youseff Chermiti. Everton were now the better team, and in the 87th minute came the biggest chance for the Toffees yet. Alcaraz's run in behind the Chelsea defence was enough to keep the ball from going out of play before whipping it across into the path of an on-running McNeil. Although in an awkward position, the English winger was able to side-foot it towards the left-hand side netting in front of the Evertonians who made the 450-mile round trip. However, again, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was already sidestepping in the opposite direction, launched himself to palm the ball away, preventing any more drama in the game. Chelsea’s three points take them just one point behind 4th place (minimum league table finish for UEFA Champions League qualification) Manchester City and currently on the same number of games too. However, City face Nottingham Forest away at the City Ground tomorrow, who are also in the look in for the same end-of-season goal. Forest currently sit on the same number of points as Chelsea but just below them, having a worse-off goal difference (5).

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Premier League Matchweek 34:

Saturday 26th April:

Chelsea 12:30 Everton

Brighton & Hove Albion 15:00 West Ham United

Newcastle United 15:00 Ipswich Town

Southampton 15:00 Fulham

Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Leicester City​

Sunday 27th April:

AFC Bournemouth 14:00 Manchester United

Liverpool 16:30 Tottenham Hotspur​

Thursday 1st May:

Nottingham Forest 19:30 Brentford​

Friday 2nd May:

Manchester City 20:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers​

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Thank you for reading my post-match article!