A struggling Everton side came away with a hard-fought point from Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw against the Merseyside team. This game summarized the season of the London side, dominant but lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has surely ended their title challenge.
It was easy to figure out which of the two teams came to play during the first half as Everton only had two attempts on goal compared to Chelsea’s 13. The Blues should have taken the lead as early as the opening minutes as Reece James couldn’t finish a one on one with Jordan Pickford. Even after that, the hosts continued to create chance after chance, best of which fell to Mason Mount who failed to score from four yards out.
The second half started the same with the hosts dominating the ball but in the 70th minute, Mason Mount gave Chelsea a much deserving lead. But that lead only lasted for four minutes as Jarred Branthwaite equalized against the run of play thanks to some woeful defending from Saul Niguez. From that point on the game was played end to end and the Blues could not find a winner, dropping yet another two points which they should never have done.
Here’s how each Chelsea player fared in another disappointing outing against Everton:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6/10
Edouard Mendy had nothing to do till the 40th-minute mark when Everton had their first shot on target. For the majority of the game, the Senegalese international was a passenger watching the game but ended up conceding in the 74th minute at his near post. Maybe Mendy should have done better in covering his near post area.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Centerback): 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta felt very anonymous today. In the whole game, the Spaniard was neither involved in the attacking half of the play nor the defending side of the play. The defender was then substituted for Trevoh Chalobah in the 79th minute.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 7/10
A passenger in the first half but the Brazilian veteran came to life in the second half, breaking down all of the Everton attacks and even winning the one on ones. Silva’s brilliantly timed tackle on Doucoure started Chelsea’s counter-attack which gave Chelsea the lead.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 6.5/10
Antonio Rudiger played almost the entirety of the first half in Everton’s half as their attackers posed no threat at all in the first half. The German centerback should have also had an assist to his name but a close-range save from Pickford denied that. In the second half as the game opened up more, Rudiger had a bit more defending to do and should have done better in marking Branthwaite who scored the equalizer.
Reece James (Right Wingback): 8/10
Reece James missed a goal chance in the fifth minute of the game to put the hosts in front, which would have completely changed the game. James then again forced Pickford to make an amazing save from a freekick in the first half. In the second half, the English international created a lot more chances but none of them were taken nicely, paying the price eventually.
Ruben Loftus Cheek (Central Midfield): 7.5/10
Ruben Loftus Cheek started again in the midfield alongside Jorginho and had a decent game. The English midfielder played as the attacking midfielder but like his previous few games, Loftus Cheek was below average in the final third. Loftus Cheek kept giving the ball away and his passing left a lot to be desired. He was substituted by Ross Barkley in the 65th minute.
Jorginho (Central Midfield): 6/10
The Italian midfielder kept the game ticking perfectly in the first half for the hosts, spreading the play from one side to the other. But in the second half, as the game became more intense, Jorginho’s lack of willingness to make a forward pass was very frustrating to see and the midfielder ended up passing the ball sideways only.
Marcos Alonso (Left Wingback): 6/10
Marcos Alonso had all the time in the world to play in the first half as none of the Everton defenders put any pressure on the Spaniard. Despite that, the wingback was barely involved in any of the major plays in the game and was replaced by Saul Niguez in the 64th minute.
Hakim Ziyech (Right Winger): 6.5/10
The Moroccan international looked very lively in the first half, twisting and turning the Everton defense. Ziyech was a handful for Everton, creating a lot of chances with some fabulous first touches, skills, and passing. In the second half, Ziyech failed to continue his performance and was very quiet for the remaining game
Mason Mount (Left Winger): 8.5/10
By far the best Chelsea player on the pitch today was Mason Mount. Despite having a disappointing first half where he could have scored a hattrick, the English international put that behind and went on to score the first goal of the game for the hosts. As always looked lively throughout the game and came clutch when needed.
Christian Pulisic (Striker): 6/10
With the absence of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, and Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic came in as a striker for the team. And it was clear to see that this role doesn’t suit the American international even though the Everton defenders struggled against him in the first half. In the second half, the American was a complete passenger so it was difficult to even spot him. Through the midway of the second half, Pulisic played as a left-wingback after the introduction of Saul Niguez.
Ross Barkley (Central Midfielder): 5/10
Ross Barkley came on for Ruben Loftus Cheek and was a disappointment from start to finish. He played with a lack of urgency even though Everton had equalized and was very wasteful in the final third.
Saul Niguez (Left Winger): 4/10
Saul Niguez came on for Marcos Alonso and his dismal time at Stamford Bridge continued as the Spanish midfielder made a silly error of not keeping an eye out at the near post from where the goal was conceded. He too was very wasteful in the final third and his lack of physicality was evident.
Trevoh Chalobah (Centerback): N/A
Trevoh Chalobah came on for Cesar Azpilicueta in the 79th minute and didn’t have much time to impact the game in any way.
How do you think the players did? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!