Match Review - Everton 1 Chelsea 0 - Masterclass from Carlo Ancelotti as Fans Return!

Well I'd be lying if I said I expected that! After the latest in an ever-growing list of lacklustre performances against Burnley last week, you would have been forgiven for thinking that this game could have potentially turned ugly. But having accused us of "doing an Everton" in my last match review, this game was anything but.

Before I get into the game, I just wanted to say how pleased I was to see how well received the players pre-game taking of the knee was, with the 2000 fans inside the stadium applauding (to be honest I expected nothing less). If you've read my recent blog on racism in football, you'll know how strongly I feel about the subject, so seeing our fans applauding brought a smile to my face.

So, to the football. I must admit, an hour before kick off when the team news was released, I wasn't filled with much optimism that my wariness and worry coming into this game could be unfounded. The sight of 4 centre halves playing across the back 4 took me well and truly back to the dark days of Walter Smith, when we'd often line up with as many central defenders on the pitch as he could find!

I voiced my concern in a tweet before the game started, suggesting all we could hope for, if we were to get anything positive out of the game, was to nick a goal and defend for our lives. And as it turned out, I was on the same wavelength as the manager, as this was exactly how the game played out.

As expected, the 4 centre halves had its drawbacks. Unsurprisingly, I think it had a negative effect on the team going forward. Neither Holgate nor Godfrey really looked to venture forward and go on the overlap, leaving Richarlison and Iwobi with much to do and not a lot of space to do it in. As a result we didn't really create much in the way of clear cut chances from open play, save for a couple of efforts on the counter attack, and Calvert-Lewin was largely starved of service.

However, I'm more than happy to hold my hands up and say I was wrong and Carlo was right on this occasion! Defensively, all 4 of them were immense in this game, and Chelsea got very little change out of them. We restricted Chelsea to just 3 shots on target and 1 big chance in the game, compared to to 11 shots on target and 7 big chances in their last match against Leeds.

The back 4 stuck to their jobs resolutely throughout and dealt with everything Chelsea had to throw at them, particularly from crosses, with them only completing 4 successful crosses from 32 attempts. Whilst Chelsea had a lot of the ball in the second half I never really felt like we were in danger of conceding a goal. We actually kept them to an xG of 0.17 in the second half, which is testament to how well the defence played, individually and collectively.

We started this game with a much higher intensity than we have in recent weeks. This is something that regular readers will know I have been extremely critical of in terms of our intensity when closing down and pressing the ball. Today, we were much better. From the first whistle it was clear we were at it and getting stuck in all over the park.

The increase in intensity is evident in the stats for the game, which show Everton came out on top in interceptions (23-7), clearances (31-15) and blocks (15-10). Yes, we had to do a lot of defending and the team was set up as such, but it was clear to me that there was much more of a focus on defending well and staying solid in this game. This started with increasing the tempo defensively from the word go.

I do wonder whether the fact that we had 2000 fans in the ground for this game would have made any difference to the players. Unfortunately I missed out on a ticket for this one, but it sounded from the TV that there was a fairly decent atmosphere. I've heard varying opinions from ex-pros on the effect the return of a small number of fans may or may not have on players. But with our home form having suffered a lot this year in the absence of fans, you have to think there is something in the fact that we turned in our best performance in a long time with some fans back.

Our reward for our positive start came in the 22nd minute, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was bundled over in the box by the Chelsea goalkeeper. Gylfi Sigurdsson stroked home the penalty to give us the lead, and more importantly, something to defend. The goal was a just reward for Sigurdsson who had one of his better games in a long while, creating 6 chances in the game, and in fact taking or creating all of our attempts while he was on the pitch.

And that was essentially that. The boys did their jobs, stuck to their task, and saw out the win, lifting us to 7th in the table - just 2 points behind Chelsea. It's crazy to think that prior to yesterday we were on a run of 1 win in 7 and now sit just 4 points off top of the league Spurs. This was the first game in an extremely tough run of fixtures for us but we've now set the standard for the level of intensity we need to hit. If we do so on Wednesday against Leicester and Saturday again against Arsenal I see no reason why we can't pick up more positive results.

Positive - Carlo Ancelotti is Our Manager!

Anyone still pinching themselves that Carlo Ancelotti is the manager of Everton Football Club? He's just world class isn't he. I do think he's made a couple of mistakes in this bad run we've been on but yesterday he got his team and tactics spot on. He completely out-foxed and out-thought his former player, Frank Lampard, who could find no answer.

That'll teach me to think I know better!

Irrespective of how good or bad things get for us this season, we absolutely have to stick with this man and give him the time he needs to build his own team with his own players. I have absolutely no doubt that he is the manager to take us forward and hopefully bring home some silverware in the not too distant future.

Negative - Absolutely Nothing

I couldn't possibly pick out any negatives after that - fantastic win, fantastic result, fantastic performance.

Player Ratings

Pickford - 6 - some good saves and showed composure in the closing stages, but some calamitous moments as usual

Holgate - 7 - didn't offer much going forward but solid defensively

Keane - 9 - outstanding MOTM performance

Mina - 8 - solid, dealt with everything that came his way

Godfrey - 8 - really good performance for a young lad in a new team playing out of position

Allan - 8 - back to his terrier-like self, looks much better in a 3 man midfield

Doucoure - 7 - quietly went about his business, brings a balance and stability just being on the pitch

Sigurdsson - 7 - definitely shouldn't be captain, but scored the winner and more creative than usual

Iwobi - 7 - end product lets him down but starting to find a bit of consistency

Richarlison - 7 - excellent today, works so hard for the team and deserved a goal

DCL - 7 - no service again, but no outfield player is getting less than a 7 today

Davies - N/A - not on long enough

Gomes - N/A - not on long enough

Kenny - N/A - not on long enough