OneFootball
Phil Costa·7 December 2019
OneFootball
Phil Costa·7 December 2019
It was a highly entertaining afternoon at Goodison Park as Everton beat Chelsea 3-1 with a new man in the dugout.
Here are three points we took from the game …
Marco Silva didn’t do too many great things for Everton but persuading them to sign Richarlison was absolutely one of them.
The Brazilian was outstanding again at Goodison Park – opening the scoring with a towering header – with his industry and intelligent movement also impressing throughout.
He was kicked, pushed and battered all game but he surmised everything Big Dunc wanted from his players in a testing clash.
You feel a genuine connection between him and the fans, and what better way to celebrate penning a new contract?
Chelsea will be leaving Merseyside thinking ‘how the hell have we lost this game’?
Admittedly, their defending left a lot to be desired, but in front of goal they were extremely wasteful again and they paid the price for it.
Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic all missed presentable chances – particularly in the second half – and you can’t afford to do that at this level.
Their home defeat against West Ham last week followed a similar pattern and Frank Lampard will want to iron this out.
Ex-players as interim managers are en-vogue at the moment, but Duncan Ferguson played his moment in the limelight perfectly.
His words since taking temporary charge have all been centred around effort, commitment and building a connection to keep fans engaged: basically all the qualities they were lacking under Silva.
Everton made 37 tackles against Chelsea. That’s the most by any team in the Premier League this season and the most that Everton have made in a top flight game all decade.
He may not be the perfect long-term fit and yes, they rode their luck at times, but the players finally gave their fans something to get behind.