Steven Naismith struck a brilliant hat trick as stuttering Premier League champions Chelsea crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Everton.
espn summerise...
Naismith, a ninth-minute replacement for the injured Muhamed Besic,
scored twice within moments of coming on as Everton turned up the heat
on Jose Mourinho's out-of-form side.
Nemanja Matic pulled one back
with a fine strike before half-time at Goodison Park but Naismith
rewarded the hard-working Toffees by completing his treble after 82
minutes.
It was the first time a Mourinho Chelsea side had
conceded a hat trick and the result left them with just four points from
five games.
Further frustration for Mourinho was that John
Stones, the England centre-half he tried so hard to buy over the summer,
was outstanding in Everton's back four.
The hosts' afternoon
actually began badly as Besic, making his first Premier League
appearance of the season, was hurt in an early challenge by Kurt Zouma.
His misfortune proved a blessing in disguise for Everton, however, as his replacement Naismith ran the Londoners ragged.
There was an early warning for the visitors as Naismith went close to getting on the end of a dangerous Seamus Coleman cross.
That
was not heeded as Naismith was allowed to turn after 17 minutes, feed
Brendan Galloway on the left and then get in the box to head home a
return cross.
It could have got considerably worse for Chelsea but
goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, in for the injured Thibaut Courtois,
brilliantly saved from an Arouna Kone header and a long-range James
McCarthy strike.
But Everton kept attacking and gained further reward when Naismith found the target with a powerful effort from distance.
Chelsea were rocking and there were possible signs of frustration as Coleman caught a stray arm from Diego Costa in the face.
The champions did eventually start to settle and play some neat football up to the Everton box.
They hauled themselves back into the game with a stunning long-range
strike from Matic after 36 minutes - his first Premier League goal since
scoring in Chelsea's 6-3 win at the same venue last year.
Eden
Hazard then had two chances blocked and John Terry, back from
suspension, headed narrowly over as Chelsea finished the first half in
the ascendancy.
Chelsea were a more forceful proposition after the break and controlled much more possession.
But
Everton's back four, superbly led by Stones and Phil Jagielka, held
firm and gave their side a platform to launch some counter-attacks.
Romelu
Lukaku broke away from Branislav Ivanovic but shot at Begovic. Everton
appealed for a back-pass as the ball rebounded off the keeper and back
into his arms via Terry's feet but referee Andre Marriner did not see it
as deliberate.
Kone also tested Begovic on another
counter-attack, but principally their job became defending as Chelsea
probed for an equaliser.
But they still struggled to create clear-cut chances and Tim Howard was well protected.
Nasimith
applied the killer blow eight minutes from time as he latched on to a
through-ball from the excellent Ross Barkley, took the ball wide of
Begovic and then fired home from a tight angle.
Stones ended the game at right-back after Coleman went off injured but Everton held out.
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