Chelsea should have taken three points from its trip to Goodison Park, but from the first kick of the ball, everyone knew that wasn’t going to happen. It was an entertaining match as the Blues were the better structured team and Everton relied on stamina and counter attacks. In the end, Chelsea did not have enough composer, fire power or creativity to break down the opposition’s stubborn defense. The Toffees’ goal was a consequence of Cesar Azpilicueta’s mistake and Chelsea was denied by a series of superhuman saves from Jordan Pickford. In the end, the Blues only have themselves to blame for the dropped points.
Here are three lessons we learnt in the defeat on the blue half of Merseyside:
1. Chelsea needs to wake up
After the loss against Real Madrid, it’s seemed as if the reigning European Champions aren’t fighting for anything. Simply put, the Blues need to wake up. Thomas Tuchel set out a plan to control the game, force Everton back into the defense, and at some point, score a goal or two. Although the Toffees showed determination, this shouldn’t have changed the proposed outcome. Instead, Chelsea played to Everton’s strengths and allowed the game to get out of hand.
In the attack, Chesea did virtually nothing. It’s not that the Everton defense did a fantastic job, the Blues were just not doing enough in terms of creating chances. Once they got in a decent position, no real support or avenue was found, or a back pass was made. Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Timo Werner failed to play off each other and did not contribute to anything substantial. This cannot happen any longer as the season begins to wind down and every game matters. The Chelsea attack needs to wake up and find avenues to score against even the most defensive sides.
The Blues played right into the Toffees’ hands on Sunday, instead of trying to turn the tables. Everton did not allow much space for the attackers, but the visiting forwards didn’t do much to create gaps in between or even break the defense. Now, it is worth noting that Pickford decided to become a super human and stop two point-blank shots. Nevertheless, the Blues simply did not test the England No. 1 enough. Chelsea should have found solutions, not created problems.
2. The People v. Yerry Mina: Guilty
If the Everton defense was on trial, the people would surely find Yerry Mina guilty of provocation and inciting chaos. However, those same people are those who are guilty of falling for his Jedi mind tricks in the first place.
Overall, the Chelsea attack was not good enough to score against Everton, but a big contributing factor was the lack of concentration on the match. Instead, the Blues were more interested in picking fights with Mina, who was a nuisance on the evening. This seemed to be particularly the case with Havertz, who took every bit of bait the defender threw his way throughout the 90 minutes. Havertz is the Blues’ only functional attacker right now playing in the false nine role. However, Mina made sure that the German wunderkind made little to no contributions to the front lines at Goodison Park. It goes without saying that Mina should have been booked at least once, and some of his actions were inexcusable. Nevertheless, he played Chelsea like a fiddle.
The German international, along with other players, were more focused on standing their ground and looking to start a scuffle than actually putting up a fight to win the match. Of course, Mina took this opportunity to add fuel to the fire and incite chaos any chance he could. The boys lost the plot inside their heads, and therefore, lost the battle on the pitch. The result? A lack of attacking cohesiveness and fluidity and, ultimately, the match.
Moving forward, Chelsea cannot afford to lose any more games, and not get caught in mind games. These distractions have not happened often under Tuchel, but with everything hanging in the balance and top four up for grabs, Chelsea needs cool heads. The Blues cannot be get distracted on the pitch. The objective is simple, win games and score goals—not start brawls.
3. Tactical changes were made too late
Chelsea was never in control of the game; therefore, a change of formations and tactics should have been made well before or even at halftime. Everton seemed to have all the stamina in the world to press Chelsea and force an error throughout the 90-minute affair. Instead of adjusting tactically, Tuchel substituted Jorginho for Matteo Kovacic at halftime.
Furthermore, he waited until the last 15 minutes—even after being a goal down—to change the shape. It was evident from the Blues’ opening 45 minutes that Frank Lampard planned perfectly to counter his old club. Thus, a formational change or a different approach should have been implemented far sooner than they were.
Tuchel’s eventual changes and tweaks were correct in the end, but they were too late to have any true impact. Chelsea was never going to score with the entire Everton team inside the box, particularly with the players on the field. However, if those changes were made earlier in the match, the outcome might have been different as fresh legs could’ve worked to test the waters and find a way through before it was too late. The Blues had no space to shoot, no time to put in crosses—or players to cross to, for that matter—and they were forced to pass back to the defense more often than not.
If the necessary changes would have been made before halftime, Chelsea would have stood a chance. Before the goal, Everton was open and relatively disorganized. They relied on tackles and a sporadic high press to win the ball and form any sort of attack. With a more organized midfield, Chelsea could have controlled the match and it could have had more time to open the opposition’s defense. Instead, the players were in a race against the clock to get a goal at the end. The clock was against the Blues as producing a miracle looked impossible. Thus, the result was inevitable.
What are some of the lessons you learnt in the match? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!