Struggling Chelsea will feel hard done tonight after Graham Potter’s Blues labored to a 2-2 draw in front of home support at Stamford Bridge while missing out on a chance to jump up to ninth in the Premier League table.
The west London outfit came into proceedings this evening on the back of consecutive wins in the league over Leeds United and Leicester City, and was eager to get right back into the top half after results from earlier today saw them drop to eleventh.
+1️⃣ for the cause.
Big shift, lads. 👏💙 pic.twitter.com/Aut5Ybn4lD
— Everton (@Everton) March 18, 2023
It wasn’t until after the half-time interval that Chelsea struck the first blow of the night via on-loan forward João Félix who slotted home past Jordan Pickford in the 52nd minute. But the advantage lasted less than twenty minutes thanks to a reinvigorated Abdoulaye Doucouré whose headed effort was judged by goal technology to have fully crossed over the line to level matters at a goal a piece, giving Sean Dyche’s men a lifeline.
Just seven minutes later it would be German international Kai Havertz to find the back of the net yet again in recent weeks, this time from the penalty spot after calmly sending Pickford the other way to restore the one-goal lead on a night where Chelsea was certainly the dominant side.
But the Blues were to be denied a win in the capital just one minute from added time courtesy of Ellis Simms’, who would turn hero after coming off the bench just ten minutes prior in the 79th minute before he cooly finished low into the far post past Kepa Arrizabalaga to bag his first Everton goal at a critical period in the club’s Premier League future.
ELLIS SIMMS SCORES HIS FIRST PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL TO BRING THE TOFFEES LEVEL JUST BEFORE STOPPAGE TIME
📺; @USANetwork #MyPLMorning | #CHEEVE pic.twitter.com/DDDG2mWpKB
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 18, 2023
From an Everton perspective, it was a vital point that keeps the club just outside of the bottom three while sitting two points clear of 18th place West Ham United as Dyche’s magic may just be starting to really take root at Goodison Park.
Chelsea Player Ratings
- GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6
- RCB: Wesley Fofana – 7
- CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 6
- LCB: Benoît Badiashile – 6.5
- RWB: Reece James – 7.5
- LWB: Ben Chilwell – 7.5
- CM: Enzo Fernández – 7
- CM: Mateo Kovačić – 7
- RAM: João Félix – 7.5
- LAM: Christian Pulisic – 6.5
- CF: Kai Havertz – 8
- Sub: Conor Gallagher – 6.5
- Sub: Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
- Sub: Carney Chukwuemeka – 6
- Sub: Trevoh Chalobah – 6
Everton Player Ratings
- GK: Jordan Pickford – 7
- RB: Seamus Coleman – 6.5
- CB: Michael Keane – 6.5
- CB: James Tarkowski – 7
- LB: Ben Godfrey – 6.5
- DM: Idrissa Gueye – 6
- RM: Alex Iwobi – 6.5
- CM: Abdoulaye Doucouré – 8
- CM: Amadou Onana – 6.5
- LM: Dwight McNeil – 6.5
- CF: Demarai Gray – 7
- Sub: Ellis Simms – 7
- Sub: Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
