Everton’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea sent Liam Rosenior’s side into last place in the race for Champions League qualification as Liam Rosenior’s side suffered a fourth straight defeat.
Beto scored in each half for the hosts, who secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Yliman Ndiaye scored the third goal with a stunning shot into the top corner to cap off a special night for Everton supporters.
The Toffees have moved up to seventh in the table thanks to some excellent goalkeeping from Jordan Pickford. For Chelsea fans, it will be impossible to miss the contrast between the two goalkeepers. Robert Sanchez endured a nightmare on the other side.
Chelsea are currently out of the Champions League and are struggling to make a profit there. If they won, they could have moved up to fourth place. Instead, they remain in sixth place, just two points behind Everton. In fact, David Moyes’ side are currently just three points behind Liverpool.
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Beto scores Everton’s first goal
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Beto scores his second goal after Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez passes the ball through his legs.
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Iliman Ndiayi wins Everton 3-0
How Everton dominated Chelsea
Rossenyol’s side slumped from the start, unable to match Everton’s intensity, and Sanchez was lucky to escape punishment when he was caught dabbing early on by Beto. This set the tone, with Jorel Hato and Romeo Rabia also losing the ball in dangerous areas.
However, all of those breakthrough goals belonged to Everton. James Garner, who was called up to the England squad for the first time, played an excellent ball through the defence, and Beto had the acceleration and quality to sink the ball past the onrushing Sanchez.
Everton needed the in-form Pickford to take the lead towards the end of the first half, but Enzo Fernandes fired home well from inside the box moments later. A fingertip save by the same player in the first hour underlined the importance of England’s No.1.
Chelsea fans need no reminder of the value of a goalkeeper. Filip Jorgensen had been having a hard time lately, but now it was Sanchez’s turn. Idrissa Gueye sent Beto into the right channel and the shot, although solid, hit the Spaniard.
Failure to stop them ended any real hope of a comeback. The match was decided by Ndiayi’s goal. It takes special goals, moments and matches to make a new stadium feel like home. That was it for Everton. Who knows where that will lead them now?
“It was the best stadium I’ve ever seen.”
Everton’s James Garner told Sky Sports about his call-up to the England squad:
“I’m very happy and over the moon. It’s like a dream.[Thomas Tuchel]called me and said he’s going to play. It’s been a bit of a crazy week, but to end it with a win is even better.”
“It was the best game I’ve seen in the stadium, and it’s great to end with a win. Since Beto came back to the team, he showed us everything, scoring and off the ball. Today he had two goals and one assist, which is tops.”
Player of the Match: Beto
There were many candidates such as Pickford, Garner, Guay, Ndiay, all of whom were good, but Beto set the tone long before that by scoring the first two goals. Although his shortcomings as a soccer player are well known, his efforts gave the team momentum from the start of the game.
And it was a great finish, as he raced past Garner and then beat Sanchez with an unusually deft touch. The second goal hit the goalkeeper, but the move was also great. As Brentford’s owners are aware, that presents him with an opportunity.
Matthew Benham has drawn attention to the Everton striker for continuing to earn his place, citing him as an example of a striker who is often criticized for mistakes. Beto can be sloppy at times, but he just keeps going. Those goals paid off for Chelsea on Saturday.
“I don’t consider myself a hero, but I think I’ve come home,” Beto told Sky Sports afterwards. “Playing for Everton is incredible. I just want to give my all and contribute to the team with goals, assists and good performances.”
Rosenior: The most disappointing thing ever
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said in a press conference:
“It was the most disappointing night we’ve ever talked about – not conceding goals, making sure we were in the game, controlling the game. We weren’t able to do that, and the result and performance were far from what we expected and wanted, making it a really, really difficult night.”
When asked if the players are working hard, he said: “For me, I don’t think there’s a lack of effort. I don’t think the team lacks belief or determination.”
“I know that when you’re losing as much as we are, when you’re performing as well as we have, that kind of thing gets thrown at you, but I don’t think it’s an issue at the moment.”
Asked about the players’ fatigue, he said: “I don’t want to do anything I don’t want to do, I don’t want people to think I’m making excuses. It wasn’t good enough. Last week it wasn’t good enough.”
“If you’re a logical thinker and you look at the amount of work the players have done and the amount of games they’ve played, I think you’ll come to a very simple conclusion.”
Asked about Chelsea supporters, he said: “They pay their money, they love this club and they’ve come a long way. It’s a disappointing time for the club at the moment, considering the way we lost in the Champions League and the way we lost the last two games.”
“My job is to take this time to look at the big picture in terms of moving forward, even though it hurts to lose a football game, regardless of your position.
“We are one point away from the Champions League places. We have to keep working like this. We have to keep giving the players as much confidence as possible and hopefully this suspension of games will be a really, really good moment for us.”
