Everton rewarded their returning fans with a much-needed victory at Goodison Park which ended Chelsea’s 17-game unbeaten run.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who hosted 2,000 fans for the first time this season, went ahead when Gylfi Sigurdsson tucked away from the spot following Edouard Mendy’s foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
That woke up Frank Lampard’s side who then drew three saves from Jordan Pickford, one of which saw the goalkeeper brilliantly tip Reece James’ shot onto the post.
Mason Mount also hit the woodwork for the visitors after 81 minutes, yet they struggled to find the fluidity which has made them potential title challengers this season.
That was in part down to some fine Everton defending, but Ancelotti’s side also had good chances, with Richarlison twice having shots saved and Yerry Mina wasting two headers.
Victory, without the injured James Rodriguez, ended a run of one win in seven games, and lifts them to seventh place in the table, while Chelsea remain third.
Everton fans give team timely lift
The last time Everton’s fans saw their team in the flesh was back in March when they were thrashed 4-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
And having missed out on a start to the season which saw the Toffees top the table after five games, they were unable to see summer signing Rodriguez in action because of a calf injury.
But those lucky enough to get a ticket in the ballot were able to see the growing influence of top scorer Calvert-Lewin, who demonstrated his aerial presence by controlling a long ball with his head before being clattered by Mendy in the box.
That allowed Sigurdsson to stroke his spot-kick home for his second goal of the season.
The Icelandic midfielder has been overshadowed by Rodriguez’s arrival in the summer and has found chances limited. But, wearing the captain’s armband, he took his opportunity to impress and teed up efforts for Richarlison and Yerry Mina, who were both wasteful.
Calvert-Lewin, who was a menace on the counter-attack, also won a second penalty when he was caught by Ben Chilwell, but the England striker was ruled offside in the build-up.
Everton’s problem in recent games has been their defending, which has not been helped by injuries to captain Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne. Against Chelsea, their back four was comprised solely of centre-backs.
But after a mixed campaign, Pickford showed the watching supporters his capabilities by producing several saves in quick succession to deny James twice and Kurt Zouma.
That seemed to boost the fans and the defence, who were under pressure for much of the second half and held out for a first clean sheet since the opening weekend of the season.
It was a welcome filip for former Chelsea manager Ancelotti, who got a measure of revenge for a crushing defeat last season.
Mendy error proves costly for lacklustre Chelsea
Chelsea took time to integrate their summer signings, which topped £200m, but after their recent form, it looks as though they have started to click.
Chief among them has been Mendy, who replaced the often hapless Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal and provided much needed-assurance behind a newly-formed back four.
So it was a genuine surprise when his reckless challenge on Calvert-Lewin led to Everton’s opening goal.
In the Senegalese’s defence, he had just recovered from a fall moments earlier when he landed heavily and collided with James as he collected a deep free-kick.
But after conceding two goals in seven Premier League games prior to this match, it was still an uncharacteristic error.
After a methodical start, going behind kicked Chelsea into gear, with James chief among those attempting to score an equaliser.
His free-kick was stopped by Pickford, and then he watched in disbelief as his low shot against the post skidded across goal.
For all Chelsea’s attacking talents, that was as close as Lampard’s side came to scoring, with Mount smacking the outside of the frame with a late effort.
Olivier Giroud failed to continue his recent fine form and at times was left isolated by team-mates Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Given only Liverpool have scored more than Chelsea’s 25 league goals this season, the fact they did not register a shot on target after Zouma’s effort in the 28th minute will be disappointing to Lampard.
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Everton
Starting XI
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Squad number1Player namePickford
Average rating6.94
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Squad number4Player nameHolgate
Average rating7.32
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Squad number13Player nameMina
Average rating6.97
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Squad number5Player nameKeane
Average rating7.72
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Squad number22Player nameGodfrey
Average rating7.55
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Squad number10Player nameG Sigurdsson
Average rating7.47
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Squad number6Player nameAllan
Average rating7.39
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Squad number16Player nameDoucouré
Average rating6.91
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Squad number17Player nameIwobi
Average rating7.13
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Squad number9Player nameCalvert-Lewin
Average rating7.51
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Squad number7Player nameRicharlison
Average rating6.85
Substitutes
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Squad number2Player nameKenny
Average rating6.33
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Squad number21Player nameAndré Gomes
Average rating6.61
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Squad number26Player nameDavies
Average rating6.31
Chelsea
Starting XI
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Squad number16Player nameMendy
Average rating4.32
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Squad number24Player nameJames
Average rating5.78
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Squad number15Player nameZouma
Average rating5.14
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Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Average rating4.93
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Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Average rating4.79
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Squad number17Player nameKovacic
Average rating4.82
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Squad number7Player nameKanté
Average rating5.20
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Squad number19Player nameMount
Average rating4.99
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Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Average rating3.47
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Squad number18Player nameGiroud
Average rating4.24
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Squad number11Player nameWerner
Average rating3.77
Substitutes
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Squad number9Player nameAbraham
Average rating4.04
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Squad number23Player nameGilmour
Average rating4.69
Line-ups
Everton
- 1Pickford
- 4Holgate
- 13Mina
- 5Keane
- 22Godfrey
- 10G SigurdssonSubstituted forAndré Gomesat 83′minutes
- 6Allan
- 16DoucouréBooked at 80mins
- 17IwobiSubstituted forDaviesat 86′minutes
- 9Calvert-Lewin
- 7RicharlisonBooked at 24minsSubstituted forKennyat 90′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Kenny
- 14Tosun
- 20Bernard
- 21André Gomes
- 24Gordon
- 26Davies
- 33Olsen
Chelsea
- 16Mendy
- 24JamesBooked at 59mins
- 15Zouma
- 6Thiago SilvaBooked at 65mins
- 21Chilwell
- 17KovacicSubstituted forGilmourat 82′minutes
- 7KantéBooked at 45mins
- 19Mount
- 29HavertzSubstituted forAbrahamat 68′minutes
- 18Giroud
- 11Werner
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 2Rüdiger
- 5Jorginho
- 9Abraham
- 23Gilmour
- 28Azpilicueta
- 55Anjorin
- Referee:
- Jonathan Moss
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Everton 1, Chelsea 0.
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Second Half ends, Everton 1, Chelsea 0.
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Billy Gilmour (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by André Gomes (Everton).
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Billy Gilmour (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by André Gomes (Everton).
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Offside, Everton. Allan tries a through ball, but Jonjoe Kenny is caught offside.
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Corner, Everton. Conceded by Ben Chilwell.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Mason Holgate.
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Substitution, Everton. Jonjoe Kenny replaces Richarlison.
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Corner, Everton. Conceded by Billy Gilmour.
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Attempt blocked. Michael Keane (Everton) header from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by André Gomes with a cross.
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Corner, Everton. Conceded by Reece James.
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Substitution, Everton. Tom Davies replaces Alex Iwobi.
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Foul by Reece James (Chelsea).
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Richarlison (Everton) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Attempt missed. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Timo Werner with a cross.
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Substitution, Everton. André Gomes replaces Gylfi Sigurdsson.
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Substitution, Chelsea. Billy Gilmour replaces Mateo Kovacic.
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Mason Mount (Chelsea) hits the right post with a right footed shot from outside the box from a direct free kick.