Match Report: Embarrassing Chelsea smashed by Everton

Chelsea were beaten 3-0 by Everton in a must win game, and their Champions League hopes are now effectively over.

It didn’t start well. The first 15 minutes were a continuation of the same awful stuff we’ve seen week after week, year after year. Defenders making poor passes out from the back, Robert Sanchez dawdling on the ball. We could have been out of it before we’d had so much as a shot on target.

The Blues managed to get a foothold in the game with some sterile possession higher up the pitch, but all it did was open them up more. It didn’t take long for a total lack of pressure in midfield to allow James Garner to pick out a through ball to Beto, who finished neatly over Robert Sanchez.

Things got worse in the second half. Beto added a second when his shot went through Sanchez after yet more terrible defending, and Iliman Ndiaye lashed in a superb goal after the Blues failed to defend a long ball.

MOTM – Cole Palmer

Analysis

There’s almost nothing left to be said after that. What can we add to our reports on the losses against Newcastle and PSG (x2)?

The team are far too open, yet don’t even manage to leverage that to make good chances. They are exposed horribly the moment the opposition have the ball, but don’t threaten at all when they have it.

It’s the worst of both worlds – at least Mauricio Pochettino had some attacking promise, and Enzo Maresca some defensive control.

The players are making horrible defensive errors, but there are ways of mitigating that. Asking them to play out from the back is quite the opposite.

Teams

Everton
Jordan Pickford
Jake O’Brien
James Tarkowski
Michael Keane
Vitaliy Mykolenko
James Garner
Idrissa Gueye
Dwight McNeil
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Iliman Ndiaye
Norberto Beto Substitutes
Mark Travers
Nathan Patterson
Thierno Barry (s 81′)
Tyler Dibling
Seamus Coleman
Jarrad Branthwaite (s 78′)
Merlin Rohl (s 89′)
Timothy Iroegbunam (s 89′)
Harrison Armstrong Chelsea
Robert Sanchez
Malo Gusto
Wesley Fofana
Jorrel Hato
Marc Cucurella
Romeo Lavia
Moises Caicedo
Cole Palmer
Enzo Fernandez
Lomba Pedro Neto
de Jesus Joao Pedro Substitutes
Teddy Sharman-Lowe
Tosin Adarabioyo (s 78′)
Liam Delap (s 78′)
Dario Essugo
Andrey Santos (s 57′)
Mamadou Sarr
Josh Acheampong
de Oliveira Estevao (s 70′)
Alejandro Garnacho (s 46′)

Stats

Statistic	Team A	Team B
Ball Possession	45%	55%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.26	1.09
Total Shots	18	8
Shots on Target	9	5
Big Chances	2	3
Big Chances Missed	2	2
Accurate Passes	385 (85%)	482 (87%)
Fouls Committed	8	10
Corners	9	3

This table clearly organizes the provided match data. Team A had more shots and better xG, while Team B had higher possession.

Quote of the game

“The most disappointing evening so far in terms of the things we’ve spoken about, not gifting goals away and making sure we’re in the game, getting control of the game,” – Liam Rosenior is honest about Chelsea disaster.