Eden Hazard, right, and his Chelsea teammates couldn't find a way past Everton on Saturday. Jan Kruger / Getty Images
Eden Hazard, right, and his Chelsea teammates couldn't find a way past Everton on Saturday. Jan Kruger / Getty Images
Eden Hazard, right, and his Chelsea teammates couldn't find a way past Everton on Saturday. Jan Kruger / Getty Images
Eden Hazard, right, and his Chelsea teammates couldn't find a way past Everton on Saturday. Jan Kruger / Getty Images

Chelsea lack the cutting edge that made them champions as Everton hold out for hard-earned point


Richard Jolly
  • English
  • Arabic

The location was the same, the emotions different. Frustration replaced elation. Eight months earlier, Chelsea had celebrated at Goodison Park, an ebullient, energised Antonio Conte’s reaction a sign that realistically, if not yet mathematically, they had become champions. The Italian was altogether more subdued on his return. So too, his team.

As in April, they were held by a defensively determined Everton side for the opening hour. Then they showed the ruthless streak of winners by adding three goals.

The rematch offered no such dramatic denouement, nor any opportunities for any joyous outpourings of emotion. The chorus came from a corner of Goodison Park “Champions Chelsea.”

________________________________________________

Read more:

________________________________________________

So they are but, as Conte has already admitted, they will not be this season. This offered evidence why. A hard-earned point for Everton was a hard-luck story for Chelsea.

“Maybe Jordan Pickford was the best player for them,” Conte said after the goalkeeper’s compendium of saves included two excellent ones to deny Pedro and another pair to thwart Eden Hazard. “His growth is miraculously quick for a goalkeeper,” Sam Allardyce added.

Conte also rued Everton’s defiance, symbolised when Phil Jagielka made twin goal-line clearances in the space of seconds to prevent Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian from making an early breakthrough. “Phil Jagielka decided he was not going to let them score today,” Allardyce said. “That’s not luck.”

Conte disagreed and deemed Chelsea unfortunate. Ashley Williams, who had cleared off the line from Marcos Alonso, certainly appeared lucky when he deflected Victor Moses’ cross on to his own bar. The visitors had the opportunities to secure a ninth win in 11 league games.

“We dominated the game,” Conte said. “We had 26 shots, only eight on target. For sure we are disappointed.” But for all their pressure, there was a certain inevitability to the eventual stalemate.

Not merely because it appeared what Allardyce wanted on a day when Everton recorded no shots on target and just 32 per cent of possession. An unambitious blueprint was pursued unapologetically.

“We scrapped it out, battled it out and fought it out,” Allardyce said. “Defensively I can’t knock the team in terms of effort, commitment and organisation.”

And Chelsea offered perspiration but insufficient inspiration. “We must be more clinical,” Conte said. They also lacked the class and creativity they exhibited on their previous visit to Goodison Park.

It scarcely helped that they were deprived of the suspended Alvaro Morata, banned after being booked for celebrating his Wednesday winner against Bournemouth, and often at his sharpest in away games.

“Our striker was out,” Conte said. He is reluctant to use the alternative. Michy Batshuayi, granted three league starts in 18 months, was confined to a 20-minute cameo. He was only even the second substitute used, with Cesc Fabregas Plan B, on another dispiriting day.

“We played with three No 10s - Willian, Pedro and Hazard,” Conte said. “We played many times in this way.” It has often been a productive ploy but Everton defended deep, looked to crowd out Chelsea’s front three and Hazard retreated further from goal in a game that cried out for a penalty-box poacher.

Conte argued Chelsea played with “great personality and intensity” but theirs was a sterile brand of domination. His midfield was largely workmanlike and his most attack-minded wing-back, Moses, was strangely removed for the more defensive Davide Zappacosta.

They did not pose enough problems to a defence that was reshuffled twice - once when Allardyce brought in a new centre-back partnership – Keane and Jagielka excelled on their recalls – and again at half-time when the Welshman came on in a switch to a back three.

Illness had robbed Everton of their top scorer, Wayne Rooney, and Allardyce admitted: “It is disappointing that we did not really threaten their goal apart from Michael Keane's header at the end.”

Instead, the defender’s effort flew over the Chelsea bar when he had the chance to increase Chelsea’s frustration.

Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20EPD%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National in Davos

We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.

T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat

Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Cricket World Cup League Two

Teams

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs

UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets

 

Fixtures

Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 626bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh1,050,000

On sale: now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto

Specs

Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km

What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5