Premier League - Chelsea fall to defeat at Everton
Chelsea dropped to fifth in the Premier League table after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.
Steven Pienaar scored on his second appearance back in Everton colours to give the Toffees an early lead and Denis Stracqualursi doubled the homes side's lead with 20 minutes remaining.
It is the first time Everton have won back-to-back league games at home since May when, just like now, they beat Manchester City and Chelsea in successive games on Merseyside.
The win sends Everton back into the top half of the table, while Chelsea have been usurped for fourth place by Arsenal on goals scored. Newcastle United will overtake both clubs if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane later on Saturday.
Everton were without January deadline-day signing Nikica Jelavic after the Croatia striker strained a stomach muscle. Stracqualursi started up front in his stead.
The home side began the game with real intensity, refusing to let Chelsea settle into any kind of rhythm or let Raul Meireles and Juan Mata have any time on the ball.
The high-pressure start paid off when, with just five minutes on the clock, Chelsea were boxed in at a throw-in in their first half. The ball ricocheted into the box and fell kindly for Pienaar to fire into the roof of the net. The goal was the South African's first in the Premier League since September 2010, when he scored the opener in a 3-3 draw with Manchester United, and it was also Everton's 150th in the league against Chelsea at Goodison Park.
Everton could have been two goals to the good as the 20-minute mark approached thanks to a gift from Petr Cech. The Chelsea goalkeeper's short pass out from the back went past his own player and right to the feet of Landon Donovan. The American attacker - who is coming to the end of his loan spell at Everton - reacted quickly, but his strike from range was right back at the keeper.
Chelsea began to find ways to make the most of their superior possession as the half progressed. Michael Essien and Jose Bosingwa both had volleys blocked at a corner as the Blues started to find their way through a resolute Everton back line.
Mata in particular came to the fore, with one incisive square pass from the right teeing up Daniel Sturridge for an effort which was deflected over the bar and another fired wide by Frank Lampard when the Chelsea captain for the day should have tested Tim Howard.
The second half began in much the same vein, although both Pienaar and Stracqualursi provided excellent outlets for Everton. Pienaar drew fouls that saw bookings for Bosingwa and Fernando Torres while Stracqualursi held the ball up superbly in several different positions.
The big forward, who also out in a shift in the aforementioned win over Manchester City, was rewarded for his tireless efforts with his first ever Premier League goal on 71 minutes.
Phil Neville made a solid tackle on Ashley Cole on the halfway line that set Donovan away down the left. The American fed the ball into Stracqualursi's path inside the box and Cech was unable to keep the Argentine's shot out despite getting a hand to it.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas had brought on Florent Malouda just before that goal, and soon afterwards he introduced young striker Romelu Lukaku in place of Mata and Ryan Bertrand for Cole, who was still struggling following the hard but fair tackle from Neville.
Lukaku had one close-range effort smothered by Howard soon after coming on, but Everton never looked like relinquishing their lead as they claimed a third home win over Chelsea in four games.
Comment 63 - 82 of 82
Everton deserved this victory, they were the better team. They had more fight, made less mistakes, played better football, had more pace, more physical strength, in fact, Everton had everything that Chelsea needed, but did not have. When the amount of money, spent on the Chelsea squad, is added-up, and then compared with the cost of the Everton squad, and most others in the English Premier League, it could beg the question:" have Chelsea Football Club reached a point where it is all starting to fall apart ?". Only time will give the answer, but, one thing is for sure, Chelsea need to change the way they chase glory. They are not the richest Football Club in England now, and top players have more enticing options. They need to look towards their Academy and scouting system, because the days of buying trophies could well be over. As for Everton, another very good performance, but, if only the changes could have been made in the summer, who knows where Everton would be. Perhaps Roman Abramovic would like to invest in Everton Football Club, the support is much greater, and certainly more patient, and all that he has to do is pay for the cost of the re-building of the Gwladys Street and Bullens Road stands, and give Davis Moyes about £30 Million. In total, less than he has had to spend in the last 2 years at Chelsea.
Let’s be honest, this isn't about giving AVB time. He has the players he needs already; he just isn't prepared to give them a chance. Sturridge should be playing centre forward, he's not a winger. Ivanovic should be at right back, playing Cahill with Luiz, and Piazon, one of the best young attacking midfielders out there, one we had to fight off United and City to get, should be on the pitch, not sitting on the bench freezing his gonads off. AVB being given time is all a big smoke screen, we've already got the young players to fit straight in, he just won't play them. How many youngsters have left over the last five years because they can't get a game, and then gone on to be a success at other clubs? Just look at Swansea: Scott Sinclair for one, and last year Borini, who's now doing well in Italy. How long will Lucas Piazon, Josh McEachran, Lukaku, and all the players that won the FA youth cup two years ago wait before moving on. Give him time? Give me a break!
and these women (except mata) thought they could beat man united.
howard webb saves them all the time,i still say gary cahill should have been sent off and we would have beaten them 5-0.
The strange thing is almost every one notices the uselessness of Bosingwa and yet the manager keeps playing him. He again was the initial cause of the first goal and was slow in blocking the 2nd goal. Did AVB ever reviewed videos of the team matches. He definitely is not a top manager if he fails to see that Bosingwa is hopeless in defending and in crossing the ball...heck now he cannot and thus does not even try to beat his men when a player like Valencia does so with impunity!
malcolm.j.wood, you do have the right man to rebuild chelsea but you are not giving him time, as for a team to finish top 4 this season maybe you will maybe you wont, chelsea have to many of the old guard which are now and last season showing cracks, but if avb cant sell the players which i think the owner dont want he cant build a team, he is trying to make the team play in a way to save their energy's for the old guard while letting the youth do most of the running, but the old guard seem to be fighting him, like terry trying to go box to box like he use to, i say give avb till the end of next season and then you will be able to see what he is trying to do, look at the players he has bought you can see what his plans are, but when you have a player like torres which the owner seems to want to play for most of the games even while he is not on form avb cant do a thing till the summer, wait till then just back him and the team no need to keep calling for him to be sacked, from day one alot of chelsea fans were shouting for his sacking, is that fair to him?
Lord of Time, it's not about giving AVB time - everyone agrees that you can't restructure a team who have been giving brilliant service to a club for close to a decade overnight. The problem is, even if the team is getting old and slow, while the competition is getting younger and faster, A VB still has the resources to make a top 4 finish. It's not as though we have a board that's shy for spending money. Accordingly, if AVB isn't able to make it in the top it no longer becomes an issue of time, it's an issue as t whether we have the right man at the helm of the ship.
Dear chelsea fans
Dont you think you are acting like spoilt children, for the past 7 years you have had the luxury of your owner spending lots of money and paying huge wages to get players, now that the club is trying to get ready for the new regulations you are not giving them the time they need to get it right, Dont you think you should allow the club with avb the time to build a team rather than have the club go in the red just to make you happy for the short term, with you lot complaining all the time and not giving the new manager time to make his own team you are proving how much you care about your own club, as a fan of another club i rather my club had a good finacial model in which to be able to buy players and challenge for a trophy, but unlike you i would rather have a club in the long run and reape the rewards at a later date than have the club go into debt just for a quick fix, give avb time he will come good, he has not had the time to build the club he still has alot of the old guard to deal with, so i say let him be and wait to see what he can do with a team of his making and not having the team he was giving.
AVB should never have been appointed manager of CFC. This farce must end with his sacking. To suggest that CFC should persist with him is ludicrous. He is not a top flight manager and probably never will. Huge mistake by Abramovich. It's analogous to hiring the boy in the mailroom to manage the company. What a joke.
Time for AVB to go he has'nt a clue.
It looks like it is back to the days of the 'big three' in English football!
Very very funny.
Watching Villa Boas, all he needed was an Umbrella and he would have been a dead ringer for Steve Mclaren that fateful at Wembley.
AVB was absolutely Clueless.
Why spend all that money for Cahill and sit him on the bench when we really something different in defence. Bosingwa had a terrible game. Dreamily giving away the first goal. The back four should have been.Ivanovich, Cahill. Ruiz and Cole.
Taking Mata, our playmaker, was NUTS. Either Torres or Sturridge should have come off. Probably Torres because he'd been booked.
Mr. Abromavich bring Gus Hiddink till the end of the season, keeping AVB. Then make a decision what to do.
chelsea just fall in the cold water..
AVB is new mourinho?
dont make me laugh...
Say what you like about AVB, he DOES talk rather well, doesn't he?
Ekotto has scored more goals than Torres. Not bad for a left back.
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CHESKI from contenders to nohopers sad but true
saha ha ha ha
taxi for torres
hey chelsea how did spurs get on today
taxi for AVB too heathrow
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