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Weren’t these moments supposed to have disappeared from the past? Midway through the first half, panic and calamity came to Chelsea’s defense and no one could believe it.
In the early stages of this highly unusual season, a question kept being asked about Chelsea: did they have the defensive courage to marry their potentially exciting attack?
Then Frank Lampard put Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy in key positions and everything changed.
Silva’s first experience in English football may have been the aberration at West Brom, when Chelsea conceded three goals in 27 insane minutes, but since that day they have barely missed gracefully. He was once the best central defender in the world and everything he did showed you why.
Before kickoff, there was a poignant moment when Silva ran to hug Everton coach Carlo Ancelotti, with whom he had played for AC Milan and Paris St Germain, and the Italian would have had no illusions of the challenge the Brazilian would present him. . attackers.
Goodison Park, however, is one of those places that can do strange things to visiting players and make even the most unflappable uncomfortable.
There might only have been 2,000 fans on site for the first time since March 1, but they still made noise and still had an effect.
How else to explain the game-changing incident in the 21st minute, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin raged, shoved Silva off his shoulders and then invited Mendy to a short circuit, as the goalkeeper clattered into the England international to give Jon Moss? an easy decision: penalty.
Precisely why Mendy aggravated the situation and produced a mistake more in keeping with the man he was booked to replace, Kepa Arrizabalaga, is something that Lampard will be pouring out on over the next few days, after this setback.
“Calvert-Lewin is something else,” enthused former Chelsea star Joe Cole during the halftime break at BT Sport.
“To do what he has done to Thiago Silva, who has seen all kinds of players: athletics to win the movie and chase the ball.”
Calvert-Lewin is certainly coming of age. He couldn’t have sidelined a player of Silva’s quality, as he did here 12 months ago, but his confidence is blossoming and he doesn’t feel any kind of inferiority complex now against big-name central defenders.
And it definitely shook Silva. There was an incident just before the break when the 36-year-old again gave in to Calvert-Lewin pressure and gave the ball to Gylfi Sigurdsson at the midfield line, allowing the home team to break down.
Sigurdsson’s ball allowed Richarlison to gallop away down the left and it was only thanks to Silva’s presence of mind as he backed away that a second goal was avoided.
Silva was able to sweep the ball after Mendy smothered the Brazilian’s shot.
Silva, to his credit, regained his composure in the second period – there was a wonderful moment when he snatched the ball from Alex Iwobi with the gentle touch of a pickpocket – but the same can’t be said for Chelsea.
Lampard must hate this stadium as he was here last December, Everton, then in the relegation zone, beat Chelsea 3-1 to begin their climb to safety.
Chelsea were expected to win then, as now. Nothing should be taken for granted.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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