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Everton was a fruitful opponent for Frank Lampard, the player, but Goodison Park has given him nothing as a coach.
His Chelsea side missed their chance to rise to the top of the Premier League by succumbing to a first loss since the second weekend of the season courtesy of Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty.
Sigurdsson’s brilliant first-half penalty shot, awarded after goalkeeper Édouard Mendy crushed Dominic Calvert-Lewin, condemned Chelsea to a third straight loss at Goodison Park. Lampard, who scored 10 goals against Everton during his playing days, saw his team dominate possession but not chances, as Carlo Ancelotti’s forced defensive system held firm and threatened on the counterattack.
The longest unbeaten streak in the Premier League, dating back to Liverpool’s victory at Stamford Bridge in September, disappeared as a result.
The Z-Car theme was greeted by a tumultuous roar from the 2,000 Evertonians inside Goodison Park, who made a lot of noise for such a restricted crowd, but a calf injury denied them a chance to see James Rodriguez in person for first time. .
Rodríguez’s absence forced another tactical change for Ancelotti. After starting the season with an effective 4-3-3, injuries to first-choice full-backs Séamus Coleman and Lucas Digne led to a change to 3-4-2-1. It was now 4-4-1-1 with a backline made up entirely of central defenders, including right-hander Ben Godfrey on the left back. Oddly Niels Nkounkou, the young left-back who impressed in his first appearances, was once again absent from the match day squad.
Chelsea’s creative options were also affected by the injuries of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, although with Kai Havertz and Timo Werner lined up on either side of Olivier Giroud, the visitors weren’t exactly deprived of offensive talent. Lampard’s side started off brilliantly, with Havertz and Reece James purposely combining on the right.
The visitors controlled possession with the confidence of an undefeated team in 17 games, but Everton looked dangerous whenever they could put pressure on the Chelsea defense. Alex Iwobi was particularly sharp on the right wing. Richarlison, after an orderly trade with Sigurdsson, found himself free inside the penalty area, but meekly directed the first opportunity of the game to Édouard Mendy.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy needed treatment when he fell heavily after claiming a free kick from Sigurdsson and landed on top of James. Three minutes later, and perhaps still feeling the effects, he conceded a late-tackle penalty to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, although nothing should be taken away from the role of the Everton center forward in the incident.
Calvert-Lewin initially beat Thiago Silva in the air when challenged for a punt by Jordan Pickford. The forward was also quicker on the second ball than the veteran defender and Mendy controlled it inside the area. The VAR was not required to confirm the immediate award of a penalty by referee Jonathan Moss and Sigurdsson, watching Mendy the entire way, sent the keeper the wrong way with an indifferent penalty spot.
Chelsea almost answered immediately. Having put Pickford to the test with a curly free throw, James moved closer when the resulting corner fell on his way 25 yards from goal. The right-back connected perfectly only to have his unit hit the inside of the near post, through a slight deflection from Abdoulaye Doucouré, and the cannon crossed Pickford’s goal.
Kurt Zouma should have done better when Giroud’s header landed at his feet inside the Everton area but hit the England keeper, while Werner fired from a low cross from the French forward.
Richarlison came close to extending Everton’s lead on either side of the interval when he was released at halftime by the increasingly influential Sigurdsson. A superb ball for the first time since number 10 sent the Brazilian to a goal in the 40th minute, but Mendy lived up to his low shot.
Early in the second half, from another weighted pass from the Everton captain in the evening, Richarlison ran up and disguised his shot through Zouma’s legs. Mendy produced a superb full-length stop to deny the striker once again.
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Moss awarded Everton a second penalty when Ben Chilwell blocked Calvert-Lewin as he crossed the area. However, the decision was overturned by the VAR, as Calvert-Lewin was offside when he held on to Iwobi’s pass in preparation, although his verdict came after Richarlison petulantly demanded that the penalty be taken in place of Sigurdsson. .
Chelsea hit the wood a second time when Mason Mount beat Pickford with an angled free kick only for the attempt to hit the base of a post with the goalie beaten.
