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Simms scored his first Everton goal in the 89th minute at Stamford Bridge to
claim a vital point in the Toffees' relegation fight and halt Chelsea's recent
resurgence.
Chelsea had bounced back from a horrendous run of form at the start of the year
by winning their last three matches in all competitions and they should have
made it four in a row after twice taking the lead against Everton.
Joao Felix rolled the Blues' first past Jordan Pickford via the post seven
minutes after the break only for the hosts to allow complacency to creep into
their game, resulting in Abdoulaye Doucoure glancing a header just over the line
to level for the visitors in the 69th minute.
Chelsea managed to hit back through Kai Havertz seven minutes later when he
converted a penalty after a foul on Reece James, but the Blues again threw it
away, with Simms easily bursting past Kalidou Koulibaly before seeing his shot
squirm past Kepa Arrizabalaga as the Toffees continued their spirited fight
against the drop.
How Everton battled back to deny Chelsea
After appearing to be careering towards relegation under former Chelsea boss
Frank Lampard at the end of January, Everton’s revival under Dyche continued in
west London thanks to another impressively gritty performance.
The Toffees took just two points from their final eight Premier League games
under Lampard but have earned 11 from Dyche’s first eight matches in charge, a
clear demonstration of the positive impact the former Burnley boss has made.
Everton frustrated Chelsea throughout their Saturday evening encounter, with a
defender seemingly in the way of the ball every time it went near Pickford’s
goal during a first half of few clear chances.
The visitors’ resistance was finally breached by Felix after he collected
Michael Keane’s weak clearance to guide the ball into the far corner but
Everton’s battling qualities were on display as they fought back to level
through Doucoure, who turned James Tarkowski’s header past Kepa from close
range.
A rare mistake from Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey, who combined to trip James,
allowed Havertz to score his third goal in as many games from the spot, but
Everton were not to be denied as Simms charged into the Chelsea area and ended
their three-game winning run.
The result moves Dyche’s side up to 15th and two points clear of the drop zone,
while Graham Potter’s team missed the chance to close the gap on fourth-placed
Tottenham and lie 10th, 11 points off the top four.
Simms announces arrival at perfect time for Toffees
It’s far too early to anoint Simms as Everton’s answer at No 9 but the way in
which the 22-year-old announced his arrival onto the scene was a welcome boost
for the goal-shy Toffees.
Only Crystal Palace have scored fewer Premier League goals than Everton’s 22
this season and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin apparently unable to stay fit and
Neal Maupay out of favour, Dyche has felt the need to start Demarai Gray, a
winger, as his striker in recent weeks.
But Simms, recalled from a productive loan spell at Sunderland in January,
showed he could play a pivotal role in the closing stages of Everton’s campaign
during his cameo against Chelsea.
With 11 minutes to go and his side staring defeat in the face, Simms was thrown
on to try to save the game for Everton - and he did just that.
The way in which Simms breezed past Koulibaly - one of Europe’s standout
centre-backs before joining Chelsea - was striking and, while Kepa could perhaps
have done better in trying keep out his effort, Simms deserves credit for
getting his shot on target and ultimately showing his fellow forwards how to
find the back of the net.
Dyche hails 'growth in mentality'
Dyche chose to praise his players for avoiding defeat away from Goodison Park
for the second match in succession following a run of four defeats in a row away
from home.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Everton boss said: "I'm really pleased with the
growth in mentality. There's been a lot of questions about Everton's away form
and the mentality around that but it's been improving all the time.
“It's still a tough place to come here. I know they've [Chelsea] been up and
down but they're a good outfit, coming off of three wins.
"We showed them a little bit too much respect in the first half but after that
we got back to grips with the game and reacted well to going behind twice."
Chelsea undermined by lack of ruthlessness
Chelsea’s three-game winning run relieved the pressure on Potter at the
opportune time after his job was seemingly on the brink following a run of one
win in 11 matches in all competitions, but nobody should have been fooled into
thinking the manager has fixed all his side’s problems.
While Potter is finally getting a tune from his forward line following a
profligate start to the year, Chelsea still lack a ruthless streak, too often
failing to finish off opponents when they’re there for the taking.
The Blues deserve credit for ending their wretched run of form against Leeds at
the start of the month and overturning a 1-0 deficit to progress past Borussia
Dortmund in the Champions League, but both results were secured by the skin of
their teeth.
Chelsea dispatched Leicester last weekend but they were guilty of throwing away
a lead at West Ham last month and they can only have themselves to blame for
repeating the trick against Everton.
Potter admitted after the game that his side’s defending was sloppy and he will
know Chelsea cannot afford to continue making the same mistakes if they have any
hope of returning to the Champions League next season.
What's next?
The Premier League now pauses for the international break, meaning Chelsea's
next game is at home to Aston Villa in the top flight on Saturday April 1, live
on Sky Sports - kick-off 5.30pm.
The Blues then host Liverpool on Tuesday April 4, live on Sky Sports - kick-off
8pm.
Everton's next game is at home to Tottenham in the Premier League on Monday
April 3, live o Sky Sports - kick-off 8pm.
The Toffees then travel to Manchester United on Saturday April 8 - kick-off
12.30pm.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Kepa, Fofana (Chalobah 87), Koulibaly, Badiashile, James,
Fernandez, Kovacic (c) (Loftus-Cheek 81), Chilwell, Pulisic (Gallagher 62),
Havertz, Felix (Chukwuemeka 86)
Subs Not Used Bettinelli, Kante, Mudryk, Madueke, Cucurella
Booked Koulibaly, James
Goals Felix 52, Havertz 76 (pen)
Everton Pickford, Coleman (c) (Mykolenko 84), Keane, Tarkowski,
Godfrey, Iwobi, Onana, Gueye (Simms 79), Doucoure, McNeil, Gray
Subs Not Used Begovic, Holgate, Mina, Maupay, Davies, Coady,
Garner
Booked Guee, McNeil
Goals Doucoure 69, Simms 89
Attendance 40,025
Referee Darren England
VAR Chris Kavanagh