**Everton’s unbeaten start to the season ended at home to Chelsea.**
Pedro Neto put the visitors ahead just 44 seconds into the second half by drilling past Jordan Pickford after he was picked out unmarked in the box.
The Portuguese winger compounded the Blues’ misery at the end of normal time by firing home a second after the ball broke for him from a free kick.
David Moyes’ side dropped down four places in the Premier League table to ninth after tasting defeat in their ninth outing from all competitions this term.
_Here were the key talking points from Hill Dickinson Stadium:_
Moyes can’t mask his failings
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Everton’s unbeaten start to the season always seemed too good to be true.
Eight opening games in all competitions without defeat was a wave which David Moyes’ side could only ride for a finite period before reality finally bit.
Given the paper-thin squad that the Blues have been left with until at least the January transfer window, an inevitable dip was always around the corner.
But Moyes, more so than owners The Friedkin Group, has to shoulder the responsibility for the manner of this defeat to a decidedly ordinary Chelsea.
Confusing line-up choices and even more bewildering in-game choices were merely the tip of the iceberg in his latest attempt to take a knife to a gunfight.
The Scot has worked wonders since returning, picking up 90 points from 63 Premier League games while working under one of the lowest budgets.
That, however, does not absolve him of the toothless nature of the hosts’ display as they failed to lay a glove on the visitors in an at-times fiery contest.
Long road ahead for Blues’ duo
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The abiding image of this dismal defeat emerged in the game’s 85th minute.
Already trailing to Pedro Neto’s early second-half opener, Moyes elected to send on Brennan Johnson and Christian Norgaard to chase the match.
For different reasons, the summer signings have been slow to adapt to life on Merseyside with Wales international Johnson becoming particularly maligned.
Norgaard, meanwhile, has been plagued by unforeseen injury problems that has prevented him from imprating his wisdom on a fledgling Everton squad.
The Danish midfielder’s arrival was expected to reflect the key leadership role he had which helped Arsenal end a two-decade wait to win the title again.
But an Everton debut while clearly still lacking in match fitness did little to inspire confidence, especially after picking up a booking inside four minutes.
Johnson was similarly ineffectual with his hapless outings in a royal blue shirt proving a recurring theme at this early stage of the campaign for the winger.
Everton players have come back from worse standing starts than the pair but this was hardly an afternoon that painted either player in a best possible light.
Ownership issue still looms large
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Off the pitch as much as on it, there is seldom a quiet moment for Everton.
Hill Dickinson Stadium’s first game since the Friedkins publicly announced that the club was on the market should have offered a sense of respite.
It had been the worst-kept secret that the American overlords’ interest had waned, even long before a catastrophic end to the summer transfer window.
Dan Friedkin has never pitched up for a game on the banks of the Mersey and is unlikely to ever do so after effectively washing his hands of the club.
Yet staying out of sight is definitely not out of mind for many Evertonians, with the fruits of their poor labour evident for all to see against the Londoners.
The sight of Farhad Moshiri again perched in his semi-permanent executive seat also offered a timely reminder of the risk that comes with a potential sale.
So, too, did developments this week around the conviction of 777 Partners figurehead Josh Wander, just two years after the group tried to buy the club.
‘Be careful what you wish for’ was an oft-quoted mantra aimed at fans who sought a better Everton but can things really be worse than a club in stasis?