Chelsea 4-0 Everton: Instant Reaction | Dreadful

Oh Everton. Why do you always do this?

We should be well used to seeing the Toffees wilt away at one of the top six, but this was woeful by even their standards.

You could tell from the first five minutes that Everton just weren’t at it. Chelsea were able to cut through the midfield far too easily, meaning Mason Mount’s smartly taken opener was inevitable.

Tom Davies was singled out in the analysis for letting Mount roam into the area unmarked, but the team performance was so bad it would almost be unfair to single anyone out.

For the second goal, Michael Keane had no idea Pedro had ghosted behind him. Djibril Sidibe should have seen the Spaniard but was equally flatfooted, meaning Ross Barkley’s pass slid past both of them like they weren’t even there.

Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, ink still to dry on his new contract, should have brought Everton back into the game when played in by Richarlison, but his left-footed finish was poor and the ball dribbled wide.

Whatever Ancelotti said at half time, didn’t work. Everton were actually worse after the break, downing tools in shameful fashion.

They decided against closing Willian down as he picked the ball up on the edge of the box, allowing him plenty of time to fire low into the corner.

Minutes later, they fell asleep at a corner and Olivier Giroud was able to escape his marker and scramble into the bottom corner.

The defeat leaves Everton down in 12th place, yet remarkably six points off fifth-placed Wolves given tight nature of the league, meaning hopes of European are not yet extinguished.

However, there is no way the Toffees will finish in the top seven/eight if they put in many more performances like this.

Carlo Ancelotti is known for not getting too carried away with victory nor too down with defeat, in contrast to the rest of us. But this display is likely to have told him all he needs to know about certain players, many of whom are unlikely to be wearing an Everton shirt in six months time.

And that is, perhaps, the only positive we can take from an utterly embarrassing afternoon.