Chelsea v Everton: Held back, Blues fall of title pace

Chelsea vs Everton Predictions

In the 2021-22 Premier League, Chelsea have been inferior to current top teams. In particular, the Blues just had 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the latest 4 games with small differences in the score. Losing points regretfully, Chelsea were passed by the other England giants, Man City and Liverpool in the first leg of the EPL this season.  

Thus, the Stamford Bridge home team needed to win Everton in the next match to remain a small gap with top teams. They were forced not to make stupid mistakes like in previous games with the hope to gain perfect 3 points. 

Meanwhile, Everton did not have better achievements. They did not win 8 per 9 games recently. With unstable form, facing Chelsea, one of the favourites for the champion title, was considered very difficult. 

Players’ condition:

• Chelsea: Ben Chilwell was injured; Mateo Kovacic, Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi were tested positive for COVID-19; Trevoh Chalobah and N'Golo Kante might not be in the starting line-up. 
• Everton: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tom Davies, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne were in injury problems. 

Match Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Everton (Goal.com)

Chelsea 1-1 Everton

• Chelsea: Edouard Mendy; César Azpilicueta (Trevoh Chalobah 79'), Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Ross Barkley 65'), Jorginho, Marcos Alonso (Saul 65'), Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic.
• Everton: Jordan Pickford; Mason Holgate, Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Benjamin Godfrey, Kenny, Doucoure, Andre Gomes (Gbamin 71'), Gordon; Iwobi; Simms (Dobbin 62'). 

Not having attacking stars like Lukaku, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea still controlled the game overwhelmingly. The home team’s ball possession was up to 81%, having 23 shots and 7 corner kicks. 

During the first 15 minutes, they had up to 5 opportunities to open the scoring but all Reece James, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic missed them. The Blues continued attacking with consecutive and dangerous shots. In the 36th minute, Antonio Rudiger dribbled skillfully to pass the ball to Mount. He speeded up to Everton’s domain but it failed again.

It was not until the end of the first half that the visitors had their first shot on target. However, Chelsea’s excellent goalie Edouard Mendy caught the ball easily. On the other side, The Toffees’ Jordan Pickford even showed off his ability more brilliantly when having to constantly save the balls for his team. He successfully block Mount's shot in the 51st minute, then closed the corner in time with Rudiger's header a few minutes later.

Pickford is the hero of Everton in the game

Despite the high form of Pickford, Everton still could not avoid being conceded a goal. The Merseyside team’s defence had a lot of trouble so that Chelsea finally found the right way to the visitors’ net. In the 70th minute, Reece James dribbled the ball rapidly, passing Everton’s defenders to assist Mason Mount. This time, young England did not waste his chance. He run to the right side and kicked a speed shot, knocking out goalie Pickford. This was also the 4th consecutive game that the 22-year-old player scored for Chelsea, raising his goal total number up to 7 this season.

Mason Mount opens the scoring for Chelsea

Unluckily, Chelsea could be happy in 4 minutes. The Toffees counterattacked suddenly from a corner kick. Gordon kicked the ball in the left side, Jarrad Branthwaite was right there among Chelsea’s players to surprise Mendy. This has been the first goal of the Toffees at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League since 2016. 

Jarrad Branthwaite equalizes the score for Everton

Chelsea then had some more opportunities to find the second goal but they were hopeless in front of an excellent Pickford. 1-1 was the final result of the match and Chelsea once again lost the chance to gain 3 points regretfully in a game that they played overwhelmingly. The Blues are still standing third on the Premier League table but having just 37 points, 3 points less than Liverpool and 4 points less than Manchester City. Meanwhile, Everton are staying fourteenth with 19 points after 17 games. Anyways, having a point against a strong opponent team like Chelsea was really wonderful for them. 

Reference Sources

• premierleague.com
• betimate.com