A laboured second-half performance saw Chelsea slump to yet another loss on the road this season. Goals from Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson recorded the first win for Everton against top-six opposition under Marco Silva, as Maurizio Sarri’s side lost more ground on the top four.
Chelsea started the game quickly and set about releasing Eden Hazard and Pedro in behind a static Everton defence. The opening 10 minutes were a relentless attacking onslaught from the Blues, and both Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain came close to breaking the deadlock.
It was unlikely such a pace to the game was ever going to persist, and for much of the first half, Chelsea enjoyed plenty of possession without really testing Jordan Pickford regularly enough.
Having endured a torrent of dominance from the visitors, Everton upped the intensity and started the second half in a similar vein to how the Blues had started the first.
There was one crucial difference, though, and that was the anticipation of Richarlison, who stabbed home the opening goal after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header had been saved well.
You wouldn’t have thought Chelsea were chasing the game as their energy only subsided further following Richarlison’s goal, and after making very few inroads going forward, a lazy tackle from Marcos Alonso gave away a penalty in the 71st minute to resign Chelsea to their fourth loss in five away games.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s initial spot-kick was saved well by Kepa Arrizabalaga, but the rebound fell kindly to Icelandic midfielder, who tapped home to double Everton’s lead.
Chelsea are three points off Arsenal in fourth place, while Everton moved up to 11th following their victory.
Here are our player ratings for the Blues.
