Live Blog

Fulltime Thoughts - Solid showing from Everton today. Still some mistakes that they were lucky to not get punished for, but overall they were very organized and determined today and deserved their win. While other horrors still lie in wait, these are three very valuable points to have in the bag,

Premier League

WhoScored

90+5’ - FINAL WHISTLE! Everton win 1-0. What a strong battling performance from the Toffees!

90+3’ - Interestingly Kenny has taken Richarlison’s spot on the left.

90+1’ - It’ll be five minutes added on, and Pickford does very well punching clear a corner. Everton break and Gomes wins a corner on the left. Taken short and Kenny is called offside.

90’ - The two Everton changes have been like-for-like so far, maintaining the 4-2-3-1 formation.
The last change is made, and Jonjoe Kenny is on for Richarlison.

86’ - Richy wins a freekick from a promising position, but Gomes hits the freekick low and it’s cleared easily.
Now Gomes to take a corner.. also low and deflected behind for another corner.
Gomes again, cleared again, gets a subsequent cross in but it goes out for a goalkick.

83’ - Ancelotti’s first change will be Andre Gomes on for goalscorer Sigurdsson.
A low ball into the box from the right finally eludes Keane but Giroud hoofs it over.

79’ - Keane with another fantastic interception, gives away a corner. Deep and cleared.
Now Doucoure is booked fouling James just outside the box on the Everton right. Good opportunity for the visitors, Mount, Chilwell and James all hovering.. Mount hits it to the far post, Pickford beaten and it goes off the outside of the post! Terrible error again from Pickford on positioning as he took two steps the wrong way.

77’ - Everton looking very dangerous when they break as Chelsea are leaving huge holes in the back. The final ball has been missing for the Toffees though.

73’ - Everton are trying to hold the ball whenever they are winning it, legs are tired and no one’s in the mood for a quick counter now.

68’ - Oh Iwobi. His crossing was horrendous last weekend and now from a dangerous position lofts the ball well over.
Have to mention, Michael Keane has been a mountain on the left side of the defence. Has cut out passes and crosses all game long so far.

65’ - Thiago Silva now booked for taking down DCL. Richarlison twists and turns and is able to win a corner on the left.
Sig inswinger is cleared and Chelsea have the ball again.

63’ - PENALTY! DCL again! Toffees break on the counter with Iwobi, he plays DCL in who cuts into the box and is pulled down by Chilwell. Moss points to the spot!
Nope, no penalty, VAR says DCL is marginally offside. Bummer.

59’ - James joins Kante in the book, sliding challenge to foul Allan. Not his first foul of the game either.

54’ - Everton hold the ball in the Chelsea half and win a freekick on the left side. Sigurdsson goes for goal and that’s not far.. Mendy was expecting it to be taken indirect and was beaten. Ooh!

52’ - Fast break from the Blues, Siggy finds Richy whose cross/shot in is parried away by Mendy. Blues eventually win a corner for Sig to take that Zouma clears.
Sig crosses back in and DCL about to pounce.. Mina cuts in in front of him and heads over. Oof.

50’ - Chelsea are off to the better start in the second half as well, continuing to pressure the Toffees like they were before the break.

Halftime Thoughts - Toffees lead 1-0 with a disciplined performance here at Goodison, foiling Chelsea while showing good control when they have had the ball.

Premier League

WhoScored

45+2’ - Chance! Ref plays advantage as Allan goes down, and Iwobi finds Sigurdsson with a cutback but he can’t get a proper shot away. DCL had a shooting chance from distance but passed it to Iwobi for the cross in.

45’ - Chelsea have been overloading the Everton left where Godfrey has done decently so far, but James is getting in a number of crosses. Like Seamus Coleman’s though, they vary wildly in quality.
There will be three-plus minutes added on.

41’ - More drama! Long ball into the Everton box, Mason Mount shoves Mina into Pickford who comes out to get this and the goalie goes down in a heap! Jon Moss hasn’t seen it and indicates play to continue, before the Blues clear.

40’ - DCL does well winning the ball on the right, Iwobi finds Sigurdsson who gets it to Richarlison in space. The Brazilian again doesn’t get enough power on his shot and Mendy can parry it to safety.

37’ - Kovacic finds Werner in the box but Holgate does very well tracking the striker and dissuades him enough to mishit a shot over.

34’ - Godfrey with a long backpass and Pickford slips!! He manages to recover and hoof clear, but looks a bit uncomfortable. Oh boy.

31’ - A couple of fouls here have got the temperature up a bit, Everton are maintaining their defensive shape and discipline however.

28’ - Allan takes out Havertz on the right. Chilwell inswinger headed down by Giroud and Zouma’s snapshot is straight at Pickford who gathers gratefully. Whew again.
James goes in studs-up on Godfrey and the 2,000 Everton fans are livid, but no booking.

25’ - Richarlison fouls his man in the middle (booked too) and Chelsea get a dangerous freekick from about 30 yards out. James takes, Pickford parries it out for a corner.
The corner is half cleared, James shoots from outside the box and Pickford palms it onto the post, the ball fizzes across the face of the goal and goes out for a corner on the other side, which is then cleared. Whew.

21’ - Edouard Mendy kayoes Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the box and Moss points to the penalty spot! A Jordan Pickford long ball is controlled by DCL and the goalie rushes out and levels him!
Sigurdsson to take.. rolls it into the net! 1-0 Everton! Richarlison wanted to take that so badly, and Allan had to guide him off the spot. The Icelander waited for Mendy to dive to his right, and went the other way.

18’ - Kai Havertz fouls Richarlison in a promising position on the left. Sigurdsson into the box, Mendy comes up to take and falls awkwardly over Reece James. He’s up after a couple of minutes, looks a bit winded.

13’ - Chelsea are owning the midfield right now, Everton are showing good energy and organization defending though.

9’ - Everton win their first corner off Kante. Sigurdsson into the box, Yerry Mina rises highest, but heads well over.

7’ - Richarlison turns Kante and gets into the box with the ball at his feet, but his shot is scuffed and Mendy saves.

3’ - Chelsea break at pace, and Ben Godfrey does well to block a Reece James shot for a corner. The visitors take it short and Mason Mount is called offside.

2’ - It’s looking more like a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-4-2, with captain Gylfi Sigurdsson in the #10 role.

1’ - Here we go, the visitors have gotten us underway at Goodison Park.

Lineups - Pete noticed something last night in one of the training videos - the Blues had lined up Pickford; Holgate, Mina, Keane, Godfrey; Iwobi, Doucoure, Allan, Sigurdsson; DCL, Richarlison for a 11v11 training drill, and guess what, it’s true. Gylfi Sigurdsson is captain on top of that.

Preview

Everton have just one win in six but face a confident Chelsea side that sit in third place in the table and having sealed their qualification into the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

The euphoria from the Toffees’s hot start to the season has all but dissipated with injuries and suspensions taking their toll on results. On their day with their first choice XI the Blues can pose a stiff challenge to just about every side in the Premier League, but currently find themselves in poor form with confidence flagging just when the campaign is about to become really challenging with a brutal slate of upcoming opponents - four of their next six opponents are in the top seven of the league while Everton themselves are foundering in ninth.

Opponents Chelsea on the other hand are high on confidence - the only points they’ve dropped in the last five games have been in a draw against league leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Frank Lampard has the luxury of rotating his squad with even the backups playing well.

Match Details

Competition: Premier League Matchday 12

Date and start time: Saturday, December 12th at 12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m ET / 8:00 p.m. BST

Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 39,572 [approx 2,000 for COVID regulations]

Weather: 46°F/8°C, partly cloudy, 4% chance of precipitation, 9 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: Peacock - United States; BT Sport 1, BT Sport Ultimate - United Kingdom; DAZN - Canada, beIN Sports HD 1&2, SuperSport Premier League ROA, SuperSport Maximo, RMC Sport 1, Canal+ Sport 3 Afrique

Radio: evertontv, TalkSport Radio UK, SiriusXM FC

Live stream: Fubo, NBC Sports App, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Universo Now, BT Sport App, ESPN Play Sur, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH, Hotstar VIP

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

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Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Lineups

Everton

Starting XI: Pickford, Holgate, Mina, Keane, Godfrey, Iwobi, Allan, Doucoure, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Olsen, Kenny, Gomes, Davies, Bernard, Gordon, Tosun

Chelsea

Starting XI: Mendy, James, Silva, Zouma, Chilwell, Kovacic, Kante, Mount, Havertz, Giroud, Werner

Subs: Kepa, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Gilmour, Jorginho, Anjorin, Abraham

Officials

Ref: Jonathan Moss VAR: Andre Marriner

Last Meeting

Chelsea humbled former manager Carlo Ancelotti on his first return to Stamford Bridge spanking Everton 4-0 as the Toffees put in another flat, lifeless performance to close out the 2019-20 season. It was a polar opposite of the euphoric 3-1 win just over a calendar year ago when the Londoners last came to Goodison, with interim manager Duncan Ferguson roaring and fist-pumping the Toffees on and cheered on by a full house. The return of fans to the stadium, even if it’s just 2,000-odd should go a long way towards sparking the players up again, we hope.