Chelsea 2-2 Everton: Player ratings as Late Simms strike stuns Potter’s Blues

ellis-simms

Ellis Simms stunned Chelsea with a late leveller as the striker’s first Premier League goal gave Everton a dramatic 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Joao Felix opened the scoring with his second goal in the competition since his January arrival at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea looked good when they were able to beat opponents who didn’t offer much going forward.

Everton surprisingly equalized when Abdoulaye Doucoure nodded in a corner, but Kai Havertz’s penalty restored Chelsea’s lead.

A home win looked all but certain, yet Everton equalized in the 89th minute when substitute Simms stepped up to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga to end Chelsea’s three-match winning streak.

Mateo Kovacic flicked an early shot wide and Havertz headed wide from a corner when he might have expected to test Jordan Pickford.

Joao Felix proved to be a pest for Everton. Although a lot of what he tried didn’t work, this is what he sought out when he came to a difficult treatment.

Everton, in their striking kit, have rarely been pretty in pink. They seemed to rely on passing in the danger zone and defending like crazy, by fair means or even foul.

Luck deserted them in the 52nd minute when Joao Felix fired past Pickford from 16 yards and wide of the left post.

Christian Pulisic had the ball in the Everton net again moments later but Joao Felix was offside in the play so the shot was disallowed.

Everton’s equalizer came predictably from a corner in the 69th minute when James Tarkowski’s header towards goal was helped over the line by Doucoure.

The Toffees pulled one back in the 73rd minute when Ben Godfrey and Seamus Coleman combined to bring down Reece James, referee Darren England pointing to a penalty.

Havertz stared down Pickford and beat the keeper from 12 yards. Chelsea may have thought that was enough, but substitute Simms had other ideas and scored a memorable goal after Doucoure had flicked the ball into his path.

Chelsea player ratings (3-4-3)

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4/10 – Only had three shots to deal with and let two of them in – he could have done better for the second goal in particular.

CB: Wesley Fofana – 6/10 – Was solid at the back, winning most of his duels both on the ground and in the air, but gave the ball away a lot.

CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 4/10 – Dealt with Demarai Gray fairly well and was good on the ball but was beaten far too easily for Everton’s second, undoing all of his good work.

CB: Benoit Badiashile – 6/10 – Looked the least comfortable of the Chelsea backline but didn’t do too much wrong.

RM: Reece James – 7/10 – Caused Everton a huge amount of problems on the right, creating chances and winning a penalty with his runs.

CM: Enzo Fernandez – 7/10 – Created the opening goal with an excellent cross-field pass and made some good tackles too.

CM: Mateo Kovacic – 6/10 – As if often the case, was solid if unspectacular in midfield, providing a platform for his more creative team-mates.

LM: Ben Chilwell – 7/10 – Played a part in the opening goal and was a threat throughout on the left.

RW: Kai Havertz – 6/10 – Took his penalty well but didn’t do a huge amount from open play.

ST: Joao Felix – 7/10 – Scored a good goal, his first at Stamford Bridge,

LW: Christian Pulisic – 6/10 – Looked lively on his return from injury.


Substitutes

Conor Gallagher (62′ for Pulisic) – 4/10

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (81′ for Kovacic) – N/A

Carney Chukwuemeka (86′ for Felix) – N/A

Trevor Chalobah (86′ for Fofana) – N/A


Manager

Graham Potter – 5/10 – Set up his team well to start with but left them exposed at the back even when 2-1 up, and his substitues had a negative effect.

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