Chelsea’s title defence has been handed another blow as Steven Naismith’s hat-trick gave Everton a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park.
The Toffees had already celebrated one victory over the Blues this season, following their retention of centre-back John Stones, who had been aggressively pursued by Jose Mourinho, and three points in the Premier League will have added the icing to the cake for Roberto Martinez.
Mourinho has claimed he won’t be sacked and won’t quit his role at Stamford Bridge, despite a start which has now seen three defeats in five games, but the pressure will surely be on now given the manner of the loss away from home.
Early good work from Stones eased any worries about his ability to deal with the pressure on him following an intense summer of transfer bids, and speculation. After being nutmegged byDiego Costa he showed considerable strength, which belied his slender frame, to muscle his opponent off the ball.
Chelsea had looked bright, despite their mixed fortunes recently, but early chances were mainly whipped in crosses from Branislav Ivanovic who appeared keen to prove his current doubters wrong.
Roberto Martinez’s early game plans were affected when Muhamed Besic was forced off with a hamstring problem, with the Spanish manager replacing him with the more attack-minded Naismith, it may have worried some but proved a masterstroke.
The Scottish star showed his nasty streak almost immediately with a kick at Ivanovic as the Serb tumbled to the turf after shepherding a ball out of play.
His next involvement, though, was far more positive. Brendan Galloway was given far too much room on the left side of the penalty area and his cross was nodded home by the 28-year-old, who had made a smart run into the box.
There was no immediate response from Chelsea and Everton could have been three goals to the good just minutes later. As Asmir Begovic, in for the injured Thibaut Courtois, pulled off two stunning stops to deny Arouna Kone and James McCarthy.
And then, once again, the Blues defenders backed off Naismith and the Scotsman slipped a left-foot strike into the bottom right corner from just outside the area to make it 2-0.
Stones displayed his brilliance, which saw Chelsea bid £40million for his services in the summer, after 25 minutes when he blocked a Cesar Azpilicueta shot from close range, diverting away the ball away for corner.
Chelsea looked well off the pace but those who felt they were without a chance of mounting a comeback were offered a curt reminder of their quality as Nemanja Matic, not known for his goalscoring, cracked home a brilliant strike from 32 yards, as Ross Barkley dawdled towards him.
The goal enlivened the Blues with set-pieces being repelled and more pot shots flying toward Tim Howard, but none trouble the American between the sticks too much.
After the break, Chelsea continued their ascendency and Martinez looked fearful on the touchline, grimacing as he charges attempted to stifle their improving opponents who looked keener to press than they had in the first period.
Mourinho looked to add some pace and skill to his forward line and he threw Brazilian starlet Kenedy into the fray, in place of the ponderous and pedestrian Mikel. But while Chelsea’s attackers began to look more threatening as the match wore on, for all their trickery, they found it tough to penetrate the Toffees defence.
And, with eight minutes remaining, the final nail was struck by first-half tormentor Naismith, as the Scotsman latched onto an ace through ball by Barkley and fired between Begovic’s legs and into the far corner to seal victory for the hosts.
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Source: TalkSport