Football Features

    Walcott torments Blues defence: Full player ratings as Everton start life post-Silva with Chelsea victory

    By Harry Edwards

    Published: 14:31, 7 December 2019

    Everton started life after Marco Silva with a well-deserved 3-1 win over Chelsea, lead by Duncan Ferguson.

    The Toffees took an early first-half lead through Richarlison and doubled their advantage just after the break with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring.

    Mateo Kovacic pulled a goal back for Chelsea but Calvert-Lewin got his second to confirm the win and send Everton up to 14th momentarily.

    Here’s how the players rated at Goodison Park:

    Everton

    Jordan Pickford – 5 – A spectator in the first half and aside from conceding Kovacic’s goal had absolutely nothing to do in the second.

    Djibril Sidibe – 8 – After a poor Merseyside derby, this was a solid performance from the Frenchman. Frustrated Pulisic for 90 minutes and sent in a wonderful cross for Richarlison’s goal.

    Mason Holgate – 9 – Was outstanding throughout and produced an excellent block on Mount’s shot as Chelsea pushed for the equaliser.

    Michael Keane – 8 – Lucky not to see a silly mistake punished but was otherwise calm in defence.

    Lucas Digne – 7 – A decent game though he was troubled by Willian at times. Poor clearance for Chelsea’s goal, sending the ball straight to Kovacic. Taken off through injury.

    Theo Walcott – 9 – Caused serious problems down Everton’s right, targeting Azpilicueta. Pulled the Spaniard out of position with a good decoy run opening space for Sidibe to set up Richarlison. Tested Arrizabalaga with a decent shot though a pass would have been the better option.

    Morgan Schneiderlin – 7 – A wonderful performance in midfielder, rending Kante useless at time.

    Gylfi Sigurdsson – 6 – The quietest of Everton’s players but it wasn’t a bad performance.

    Alex Iwobi – 7 – Didn’t do too much in attack but his defensive efforts were key.

    Richarlison – 8 – Opened the scoring with a good header having initially passed the ball out wide to Sidibe. Caused Chelsea serious problems and was defensively excellent too, as usual.

    Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 9 – Had an understated role in the build up to Richarlison’s goal initially feeding the ball to the Brazilian. Should’ve doubled Everton’s lead in the first half after decent work to lose Zouma but his shot was poor. Did eventually double the lead just after half-time, capitalising on poor defending and completed the win with a cool finish.

    Substitutes:

    Tom Davies (for Richarlison 70) – 6 – Showed good feet in the box in the build up to Calvert-Lewin’s second.

    Leighton Baines (for Digne 82) – N/A – A late sub.

    Bernard (for Walcott 85) – N/A – A late sub.

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    Chelsea

    Kepa Arrizabalaga – 3 – Couldn’t really do anything about Everton’s first two goals but was disastrous for their third. First gave the ball away with a poor pass before allowing Calvert-Lewin’s shot through his legs.

    Reece James – 6 – A decent game albeit unspectacular. Taken off late on as Frank Lampard went for broke.

    Andreas Christensen – 3 – Was overpowered by two defenders for Richarlison’s goal and was unable to prevent the Brazilian from scoring. Beaten far too easily by Calvert-Lewin for the second and lost for the third.

    Kurt Zouma – 2 – Left Christensen with too much do to in the box, focusing on the ball when his teammate needed help. Looked lost when Calvert-Lewin scored Everton’s second and flat-footed as Arrizabalaga’s pass was intercepted by Walcott. Not a good showing on his return to Goodison Park, perhaps forgetting which team he was representing.

    Cesar Azpilicueta – 2 – Bought Walcott’s decoy run leaving Sidibe a free flank to cross and struggled to improve himself. His passing was poor and he looked ineffective in both defence and attack throughout. With Chelsea able to sign players in January, left-back is a must-buy position.

    N’Golo Kante – 5 – Not a good game, by his own high standards, struggling to got a hold on the midfield.

    Mateo Kovacic – 8 – Perhaps could have done better to close down Sidibe’s cross but he should not be blamed. Was not given the time or space he needs to influence the game early on but grew as the match progressed, pulling a goal back for Chelsea with a side-footed volley from outside the area. Once again showed why he has been Chelsea’s best midfielder this season.

    Willian – 3 – Another poor game for the Brazilian who was particularly wasteful in attack. Spurned a key opportunity to equalise in the first half after Keane’s mistake by overhitting his pass to Abraham. Did put a good cross into the box later on but it was just ahead of Abraham.

    Mason Mount – 4 – A quiet first half and missed a great opportunity to equalise just after the hour-mark, sending his short wide. Poor.

    Christian Pulisic – 4 – Threatened to cause problems for Everton’s defence but just missing final ball in a poor day for the American.

    Tammy Abraham – 4 – Appeared a yard off the pace, twice not being quick enough to get onto the end of teasing crosses in the first half. Slightly improved after half-time but he was well defended by Everton.

    Substitutes:

    Callum Hudson-Odoi (for Willian 71) – 5 – Did not change anything after coming on.

    Michy Batshuayi (for James 82) – N/A – A late sub.

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