Everton took an enormous step in the direction of Premier League survival with a hard-fought however deserved 1-0 win over Chelsea in a conflict staged at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Toffees discovered themselves within the backside three final week after a 2-0 away loss towards Merseyside rivals Liverpool however picked themselves up when it mattered most to gather most factors that would show large within the relegation battle.
Richarlison acquired the Toffees’ purpose two minutes into the second half, after the Chelsea protection, led by captain Cezar Azplicueta, had been caught on the ball.
The win noticed Frank Lampard’s facet take their tally to 32 factors, however might dig themselves out of the crimson zone in the event that they win their match at hand.
The conflict acquired off to a lightning begin, with Everton getting a free-kick on the sting of Chelsea’s field after simply 15 seconds when Ruben Loftus-Cheek dedicated a deliberate foul.
Chelsea then managed a lot of the possession from that time onwards, with Everton sitting deep and limiting them to a handful of half-chances.
Regardless of their possession, Chelsea didn’t have a single shot on the right track, with the match remaining scoreless on the interval.
Two minutes into the second half, Everton struck first when Azpilicueta misplaced possession, permitting Richarlison to choose up the ball earlier than slotting it into the again of the web to make it 1:0.
Three minutes later, Vitali Mykolenko misplaced an excellent alternative to make it 2-0 for the hosts when he was performed clear, however his effort went awfully vast with the purpose at his mercy.
Chelsea might have leveled on the hour mark, however world-class goalkeeping and the publish got here to the Toffees’ rescue.
First, Mason Mount was arrange by Kai Havertz, however his shot cannoned off the publish, earlier than Jordan Pickford ran again throughout purpose to cease a goal-bound Azpilicueta shot.
Two minutes later, Pickford was as soon as once more referred to as into motion, this time denying Antonio Rudiger from shut vary.
Each groups had probabilities to seek out the again of the web late on, however Pickford, particularly, stopped the Blues from leveling together with a late probability, denying Mateo Kovavic.
In one other match, Tottenham boosted their hopes of taking part in Champions League soccer with a cushty 3-1 win over Leicester.
Harry Kane opened the scores for Spurs halfway via the primary half earlier than Son Heung-min scored a brace within the second half to make sure they moved above Arsenal on the log.