As Darren England blew for full time, an all too familiar feeling swept through the bodies of Chelsea fans with more dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Everton.
Joao Felix got the ball rolling early in the second half before Abdoulaye Doucoure scooped home from Everton’s second corner in quick succession.
Jorginho’s penalty separated the two sides in the reverse fixture and Kai Havertz’s seemed set to do the same until Ellis Simms found a hole in the Blues’ defence and accelerated through to equalise.
Here are five things we learnt as Chelsea ended March on a sour note under the Stamford Bridge lights.
Failure to hold onto another lead all but ends any distant top four hopes for Chelsea
Chelsea and holding onto leads have been an ill fated match for many years. The last few weeks where they did so against Leeds, Borussia Dortmund and then Leicester, after initially being pegged back, were a refreshing change. However, Saturday’s result represents a return to reality.
On two other occasions since the resumption after the World Cup, the Blues have given up one goal leads. These being in the away games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham. A weak mentality has often been claimed by fans and they would’ve been proven right on Saturday as Everton’s two goals came from Chelsea meekly surrendering.
Thiago Silva’s wife, Belle Silva, tweeted after the game that Chelsea are missing the Brazilian but even if he was involved, he may well have been unable to stop either goal. Ultimately the problem outweighs the absence of one man and something Graham Potter and co need to find a solution for.
Joao Felix demonstrates why he is rated so highly against Everton
Another area where debate has raged in recent weeks has been around the performances of the Portuguese international Felix. Signed on a lucrative loan deal, his output in terms of goal contributions hasn’t necessarily always matched up with his performances.
Saturday seemed set to be another one of those days as he wowed the crowd with several flicks and quick turns of pace with nothing to show for it on the scoreline. However, a moment of quality came in the 52nd minute as his left footed shot squeezed in off the post.
After Christian Pulisic was substituted 10 minutes later, Felix and Chelsea didn’t attack in the same manner for the last half an hour. He brings a fluidity and drive not seen in attacking areas for a number of years and moments of quality on Saturday can help lift this Chelsea side out of their current home in 10th.
Kepa Arrizabalaga error re-opens the debate around the number one goalkeeping position
The years of Petr Cech being between the sticks for Chelsea are a far cry from their current goalkeeping situation. Edouard Mendy started the season as number one but his form fell off a cliff before an injury gave Arrizabalaga a new lease of life in his Chelsea career. For the most part he has been a success story keeping Chelsea in games, most notably in the 2-0 win against Aston Villa. But in recent weeks the old cracks have started to appear with a chaotic display against Leicester and then against Everton as Simms’ shot burst through his hands.
News coming out of the club recently had seemed to hint the hierarchy were happy with the Spaniard as the number one and didn’t see signing a new goalkeeper as a priority for the summer. Costly errors like the one on Saturday goes some way to changing that feeling and if Todd Boehly wants to turn Chelsea into title winners, then a new goalkeeper maybe should be on the summer shopping list.
In addition, the fault for the second equaliser doesn’t solely lie with Arrizabalaga as Kalidou Koulibaly’s aggressive style was exposed in the Premier League again. He stepped in to tackle Simms when showing him down the line would’ve been the better option.
World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez sprinkles more stardust on the Stamford Bridge pitch against Everton
Naturally anyone arriving at a new club for a big fee will be under pressure to hit the ground running. Pressure that Fernandez doesn’t seem to be suffering from, at least if he is he is hiding it very well. Everton were the latest side to have the game’s tempo dictated to them by Chelsea’s new number five.
His measured diagonal balls were a feature of his display and you wouldn’t be surprised if he could do them with his eyes closed such was the precise nature of them. One of them featured in the build-up to Felix’s goal as Fernandez picked out Ben Chilwell whose ball in ended up at the feet of Felix. Other flicks and tricks along the way wooed the Stamford Bridge faithful and the feeling is Chelsea so far have only seen the tip of the iceberg in the midfielder’s qualities.
Food for the thoughts of Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk?
Whilst January additions Felix and Fernandez started another game, it was another day where neither Madueke nor Mudryk featured. Named on the bench with Christian Pulisic entering the starting XI, the expectation was at least one would feature especially in the absence of Raheem Sterling. Conor Gallagher was the preferred introduction for Felix where the speed of Mudryk in particular against tired legs seemed a better option. Further changes came with a focus on holding onto the lead Chelsea had.
The Ukrainian winger had impressed the week before against Leicester with a disallowed goal and an assist and would’ve felt he deserved more minutes against Everton whilst this is the third time in four games Madueke has been an unused substitute.
With games continuing to come thick and fast, opportunities should present themselves after the international break but you won’t be able to blame them for feeling frustrated if they don’t materialise.
Written & edited by Harrison Burridge (@hburridge2)
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