After
facing two promoted sides in their opening 2 games, Chelsea were up
against their first real test of the season as they headed to Goodison
Park for Saturday's late kick off. Having netted just twice in their
last 3 games there and amidst claims that their first choice striker was
facing a battle with fitness, the Blues looked like they might be in
for a long afternoon.
However, within 3 minutes the home side found themselves on the back foot, conceding 2 goals in quick succession.
Everton had faced a similar defensive slip last time out as Arsenal
were able to score 2 goals within 7 minutes of each other. Martínez
noted in his post-match press conference that it wasn’t a matter of
skill but attitude, and something he’d look to improve - and quickly.
Everton
were unfazed by the 2 goal deficit and set out to battle back as they
had done in their opening game of the season at Leicester. They
controlled possession for not only large parts of the first half but
throughout the game, boasting 62% possession.
However,
it’s not possession that wins football games but goals, and there
plenty of those from both sides. José Mourinho lamented that he could
have spent last Wednesday at home with his kids rather than waste his
time practicing nothing but defending set-pieces as it would have had
the same outcome. Steven Naismith has become a familiar nemesis to
Chelsea’s defence and he scored his 3rd in 4 games against the West
London side.
Despite
there being 8 different goalscorers on Saturday evening, the focus was
very much on Diego Costa for as much as he did on the ball as he did
off. There were some questions about his fitness in the buildup to
Saturday as he’d aggravated a recurring hamstring injury. Had he missed
out, it would have left Chelsea in the position of lining up against 2
strikers they let go over the summer yet without their own first choice
centre-forward available.
Any
doubts about Costa’s fitness were erased within moments after he got on
the end of a through ball from Cesc Fábregas to score his first of the
day within 36 seconds. It was Costa’s third shot on target and third goal in Chelsea’s opening 3 games. An efficient way to endear himself to his new supporters.
What
would have delighted Mourinho most, however, would have been his
striker's work rate. He didn’t shy away from defensive duties, tracking
back throughout the game. In fact, only Nemanja Matic made more tackles
and interceptions (7) than Costa did (6) in the clash.
To
the disappointment of Seamus Coleman, Mourinho left Diego Costa on for
the duration of the match and by the end of Saturday night he’d become
the top scorer in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season (only to be over
taken by Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Sunday). Costa is now just 1 Premier
League goal away from Fernando Torres' total in the whole of last season
(5). Apprehension about whether Costa can remain as prolific in front
of goal in the Premier League as he had been in La Liga has all but been
alleviated, although it does still remain to be seen if he can do it on
a wet Tuesday night in Stoke.
