Everton moved into the Champions League race with a 3-0 win over Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday. Beto scored twice and won the aerial duel that led to Iliman Ndiaye’s amazing third goal. David Moyes’s team dealt another huge blow to the Blues in front of 52,547 fans as Liam Rosenior’s team lost by three goals for the second time in a row, just days after being humiliated in the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea have now gone 303 minutes without scoring in any competition, a terrible statistic for the west London club. After the game, Rosenior talked about the first goal, which set the tone for a bad night on Merseyside. He took full responsibility for his team’s defensive mistakes:
“When you watch the goal back, it’s not a tactical thing. We didn’t go man-for-man today. We played 4-4-2. It’s a moment of switching off. I want to protect my players always, and I take responsibility in that lapse of concentration but that’s happened too many times recently.”
The Chelsea manager was clearly upset, and he had every right to be. His team were slow from the start and couldn’t keep up with Everton’s energy the whole time. James Garner made a great pass through the defence in the 33rd minute, and Beto had the speed and skill to lift the ball over the rushing Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea’s Losing Streak Reaches Four Games as Champions League Hopes Fade
Chelsea’s loss meant they had lost four straight games in all competitions, putting their hopes of getting Champions League qualification in serious danger. PSG knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League with an embarrassing 8-2 aggregate loss. This came after a Premier League loss to Newcastle, and now this loss to Everton.
Chelsea are still in sixth place with 48 points, but they are now only two points ahead of Everton, who moved up to seventh. Rosenior’s team have only earned five of the 15 points available in their last five Premier League games. This poor performance has quickly killed the initial excitement about his hiring.
Chelsea will play again after the international break. On 4 April, they will play Port Vale in the FA Cup, and on 12 April, they will host Manchester City in the Premier League. These two games could determine the rest of their troubled season.