Chelsea 2-2 Everton: 3 Blues talking points

After a late equalizer from Ellis Simms, Chelsea and Everton were forced to play out a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Saturday night. Sean Dyche’s Toffees ended the blues three match winning streak as CFC remain in 10th position. The team that defeated Leicester last week underwent three changes under Graham Potter. Reece James and Benoit Badiashile were reinstated to the starting lineup, and Christian Pulisic received his first start following recovery from an injury early this year. N’Golo Kante was named in the squad for the first time since his injury in August. Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were all moved to the bench.

Everton, who were largely underwhelming, managed to snag a point from a losing position despite the fact that Graham Potter’s men appeared to be in cruise control for the majority of the evening. Before an Abdoulaye Doucoure header set back the hosts in minute 69, loanee Joao Felix stroked home via the woodwork from the edge of the box in minute 52. The deadlock didn’t last long since Havertz scored coolly and accurately from 12 yards just a few minutes later, which seemed to be the final blow to the Merseyside’s miserable season.  Yet to their credit, the Merseysiders successfully carried out Dyche’s strategy, making the match largely ‘boring,’ and Ellis Simms scored in the 90th minute to earn a point. A result that was crucial, and much needed for the Toffees.