Despite last week’s defeat, Everton’s status in the top flight was confirmed for another year on Sunday at Portman Road. In truth, survival was never in doubt after a David Moyes-inspired resurgence lifted the Blues safely up the table. Today’s opponents, however, still had plenty to play for, with Champions League qualification in their sights.
Seven players from the current starting eleven weren’t born when Everton last won a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. In November 1994, Paul Rideout secured the victory, with the travelling fans leaving London unaware it would be at least 21 years before their next. Maresca’s men had only lost twice at home all season, but a draw against struggling Ipswich last time out confirmed the young team’s vulnerability — enough to convince Moyes a result was more than achievable. With James Tarkowski out for the season, as confirmed by himself on Instagram, and Armando Broja ineligible to play against his parent club, there was plenty to ponder for the boss, who celebrated his 62nd birthday on Friday. A reportedly frustrated Beto was called upon, and Nathan Patterson’s introduction saw Jake O’Brien shift to centre-back, with the rest of the side unchanged and eager to bounce back.
Chelsea started brightly, positionally fluid and comfortable in possession. Early on, Neto tempted Vitaliy Mykolenko in before spinning away behind the Ukrainian, only for a heavy touch to allow Jordan Pickford to gather. Another dangerous ball in behind the back four was perfectly controlled by Cole Palmer, but James Garner reacted sharply to nick the ball away. Noni Madueke was lively; a strong run past Patterson allowed the winger to test the goalkeeper, who quickly got down to his left to palm the effort away. In between the waves of Chelsea attack, Everton couldn’t capitalise on the counter, often due to a poor final ball.
The home side continued to press forward. Pickford failed to deal with a cross, tamely punching the ball into the path of Marc Cucurella inside the box. The curly-haired Spaniard failed to connect cleanly, sending his effort wide of the target. From the resulting goal-kick, Everton opted to play short. Beto eventually received the ball but was unable to withstand pressure from Trevor Chalobah, who poked it towards Enzo Fernández. His pass to Nicolas Jackson allowed the striker to end his goalscoring drought with a driven strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. The away side needed to shift the momentum and ended the half positively, but to no avail. Moyes clearly felt something had to change, and called upon Charly Alcaraz at half-time in place of Illiman Ndiaye.
Chelsea began the second half as they had the first, with both wingers getting the better of the full-backs. Madueke received a clever corner, shrugged off Mykolenko, and struck towards the near post, only to be denied by the goalkeeper. A loose pass shortly after from Patterson fed Jackson in again, but Pickford spared the Scotsman’s blushes with a strong tackle to surely deny a second goal. The Everton manager was a frustrated figure in the dugout, urging his team to improve.
Harrison and Beto combined well on the hour mark, with the latter forcing a good save as he struck towards the bottom left corner and It would prove to be their final contribution. Moyes’ substitutions, criticised last week, helped shift the balance this time, with all four making an impact. Alcaraz, in particular, was demanding the ball and proactive in possession. Both Ashley Young and Dwight McNeil attempted to find Youssef Chermiti with crosses into the box, but lacked the accuracy. After Madueke strolled through the defence once again, forcing a carbon copy save from the busy Pickford, Everton continued their dominance and poured forward. Even Jarrad Branthwaite — who was having another strong performance — marauded down the left wing, delivering a teasing ball across the corridor of uncertainty, only for it to be cleared away.
In their push for an equaliser, Everton left themselves open. Palmer found space and teed up Cucurella on the edge of the box. His shot was parried by Pickford, and Jackson turned in the rebound — only for an offside flag to spoil the celebrations. Everton’s best chance came as they stayed expansive, as Mykolenko found Alcaraz free down the left. His delicate cross picked out McNeil, whose attempt was smartly saved by Sánchez. The winger couldn’t make clean contact, allowing the Spaniard to tip the ball wide for a corner. Head in shirt, he knew it was a golden opportunity. Encouraged by what they saw, the away fans roared their team forward — but frustratingly, every set-piece and cross found its way into the thankful hands of the Chelsea goalkeeper, who was enjoying a much-needed strong display. A strong final 20 minutes wasn’t enough.
It was a complete reversal of last week’s showing, with Everton finishing strongly after a limp start. However, they were unable to gift Moyes the three points he would have wanted, as he continues to assess his squad ahead of next season. After back-to-back defeats, and one win in nine, Ipswich await, with the Toffees hoping to give the Goodison crowd the ending it deserves.
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