Chelsea badly needed a win coming into the game this weekend. They had suffered three defeats on the trot, twice against PSG and once against Newcastle United. Everton are a team the Blues have done well against in recent times. That being said, they have had their problems as well.
When visiting Everton, Chelsea have lost five of their last seven away trips. That did not make for good reading for a team that badly needs all three points this weekend.
Caught up in a tight race for the Champions League qualifying spots, Chelsea have managed to win just one of their last five contests. With Liverpool losing against Brighton & Hove Albion, and Manchester United only managing a draw, this matchup against Everton is a good opportunity for Liam Rosenior’s side to get right back in the mix of things though.
Everton vs Chelsea LIVE updates
FT: 3-0 win for Everton. Things are now looking bleak for Rosenior, no matter what BlueCo think. Feels like a repeat of the Graham Potter era. Good start, but things have gone off the track rather quickly.
89′: Looks like Chelsea are about to go scoreless for the third straight game. That is bad, no matter which way you look at it.
76′: 3-0 to Everton now. Ndiaye scores. Great finish. This is getting bad for Chelsea. The team looks uninspired and badly set up. Rosenior looks completely out of his depth.
75′: Estevao has certainly added a bit of quality up top. Overall though, Chelsea still look a bit toothless going forward and open at the back.
70′: Estevao brought on for Pedro Neto. Great to have the Brazilian back. Chelsea need his spark. But it might be a bit too late, even for him, to get something out of this game.
62′: 2-0 to Everton. Beto scores again. It is his second-ever Premier League brace. He shoots with power but Sanchez has to do better. The ball goes through the Spaniard’s legs and trickles into the net.
61′: Enzo Fernandez curls one in from distance, and Pickford needs to make a save.
60′: An hour gone and Everton are on the front foot.
58′: Andrey Santos replaces Romeo Lavia. Chelsea make their second change, looking to somehow find their footing.
51′: More of the same in the second half. Chelsea passing it around, trying to find an opening, struggling and ultimately giving the ball away. Everton going the direct route and looking the more dangerous of the two.
46′: Second half underway. Chelsea have a mountain to climb here, turning things around away against Everton while clearly being low on confidence. Garnacho comes on for Gusto at the break. A very interesting change from Rosenior, who is clearly desperate for a spark.
HT: Everton go into the break with a 1-0 defeat. Rosenior’s Chelsea are now staring at a fourth straight defeat.
36′: Palmer does brilliantly to get past two Everton players and set Gusto free, but the Frenchman makes the wrong choice. Then Enzo Fernandez does well to keep the ball down from a corner. But Pickford saves brilliantly to prevent the Blues opener.
33′: Beto scores opener for Everton just when it looked like Chelsea were getting hold of the game. 1-0 to the home side.
29′: Chelsea’s best moment so far as Everton just can’t clear the ball. The Blues have about four or five bites at the cherry but all of their shots are somehow blocked by the defence.
27′: Chelsea finally growing into the game. Great flick from Palmer to set Joao Pedro free. It ultimately leads to a blocked shot.
23′: Chelsea do well to go forward but it breaks down after a poor cross from Marc Cucurella.
14′: Everton go close again! It is the home team who have made a much better start here. Chelsea have continued a worrying trend of looking extremely sloppy at the start of games.
10′: Sanchez makes a mess of things at the back again. But the Spaniard is able to recover to prevent Everton from scoring the opener.
KICK-OFF: We are now underway at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what promises to be a close contest, and important one, between Chelsea and Everton.
Chelsea Starting XI Announced: Chelsea’s starting XI has been announced and it is one that has left a lot of fans unhappy. A fair few wanted to see Josh Acheampong finally receive his chance after Trevoh Chalobah got injured. But Rosenior decided to go ahead with Wesley Fofana and Jorrel Hato as part of his central defensive duo. It remains to be seen if it pays off or not.
