Everton held on for a big 1-0 victory over a disappointed Chelsea side. Chelsea, who were unbeaten in their nine previous games, had the opportunity to hit the Premier League table summit.
But a resolute Everton defense and a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty saw the visitors miss their chance. Dominic Calvert-Lewin gifted Everton their opener with a sloppy penalty given away by Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy. Sigurdsson stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick to make it 1-0 in the 22nd minute.
The hosts had Jordan Pickford to thank for keeping Chelsea scoreless soon after their opener. Pickford made a nice diving save from a Reece James free-kick and gobbling up Kurt Zouma’s effort from close range. Chelsea’s Mason Mount had a golden chance early in the second half go begging when he was unable to put the ball into the net after Pickford had been caught off his line.
Chelsea’s Mason Mount had a golden chance early in the second half. He was unable to put the ball into the net after Pickford had been caught off his line. Ben Chilwell nearly gave away another penalty but the flag had gone up for offside against Calvert-Lewin. Mount was unfortunate not to score from a free kick in the 80th minute, as his shot had beaten Pickford but returned from the far post.
Everton clung to their lead to pick up all three points to advance to 20 points out of 12 season games. Pending the results of Sunday’s matches, Lampard’s Chelsea are still in third on 22 points.