Chelsea 2-0 Everton: Instant Reaction

Everton fell to their first defeat of the season with a 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

In a poor first half from the Blues, goals from Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata handed the home side a comfortable lead.

It was a lead that would fail to be properly tested, with Everton offering little going forward for the majority of the game. Indeed, had Chelsea bothered, it could have been a lead that was easily added to.

Instead, it remained 2-0 and the Blues head into the international break with four points from a possible nine to their name. Here are some of the key talking points from the game:

• Ronald Koeman matching Chelsea’s 3-5-2 again was just a disaster waiting to happen. Everton were poor going forward and sloppy at the back. The Dutchman should have learned his lesson last season.
• Ashley Williams continues to fail at proving he’s a long-term partner for Michael Keane at centre back. Everton want a left-sided defender and it’s easy to see why.
• Tom Davies is yet to get going this season. After finishing last year on fire, he’s been poor in three games so far and was like a rabbit caught in headlights before going off at half time.
• On the subject of midfielders, Morgan Schneiderlin was desperately missed in a big game once again. If he could stop getting injured/suspended for these games, his team may have a chance.
• Sandro Ramirez is not made for the lone striker role. He is incapable of holding the ball up and was a non-entity up against the Chelsea backline.

Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

• Everton and Koeman need to start showing a bit more ambition, especially against the top six. They didn’t have a go here and it was the same at Manchester City on Monday, that’s disappointing.
• A bit of perspective may be needed on this one. Everton were royally screwed by the scheduling here, especially with this game being an early kick off.
• Positive is there’s now an international break before the visit of Tottenham Hotspur. A better performance will be expected from all.
• Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to be a huge positive; he was easily the Blues best player despite being a second half sub. He should be starting until that new striker is secured.
• The same can be said of Aaron Lennon. It’s nice to see him doing well and he offered Everton a lot when coming on late in the game. He may be deserving of more game time moving forward.
• Speaking of players with pace, the sooner Everton can get Yannick Bolasie back into the team the better. This side is desperately lacking any sort of forward momentum.