For a club that was sanctioned unceremoniously by its own government, is in the first year under brand new owners, dealing with the first-ever winter world cup, a managerial change, a monarchial death and an incredible injury record Chelsea are about where they should be.
Was giving away two leads to Everton frustrating? Of course.
But too often Chelsea supporters fall into the trap of thinking of the narrative as Chelsea-focused. The team from the Blue side of Liverpool are a team of professionals with their very livelihoods and reputations on the line and played like it on Saturday.
Everton are gaining momentum in a new manager bounce period under an excellent manager in Sean Dyche. The former Burnley manager was unfairly treated by his former employers as well as the “tiki-taka” obsessed football world when the truth is that he is an excellent and intelligent tactician who did what was necessary to keep Burnley relevant for far longer than their financial history suggested was possible. It will be interesting to see what he’s able to achieve with Everton if they avoid the drop and he’s able to acquire more talent.
Graham Potter did again make a few peculiar decisions in this match though that did leave one scratching their head. It was odd to see him make yet another change to the Chelsea starting attack when they had just played their most effective and cohesive two halves of football of the season against Leicester.