Analysis: John Terry vs. Everton

Chelsea netted a last minute winner to steal an important victory in the race for the title in the opening match of the weekend.

Everton had held the Blues for over 90 minutes of action as the game looked set to peter out to a goalless draw, before Tim Howard mishandled a Frank Lampard free kick to hand Chelsea all three points.

Chelsea go four points clear at the top of the table to ramp up the pressure on their title rivals, while Everton’s pursuit of fourth place takes another blow, as they could slip further behind Liverpool pending the result of the Reds’ match with Swansea on Sunday.

Match Stats

Everton will feel aggrieved that they lost this match after holding out for so long and to a goalkeeping error, but Chelsea will feel like they deserved to win this match.

Chelsea had 25 shots over the course of the game compared to Everton’s eight, with eight of them hitting the target.

Petr Cech was only forced into action on two occasions and Everton’s tackling as a team just wasn’t up to scratch, as they won just 42% of their challenges with opponents.

Man Of The Match

John Terry was the standout player as Chelsea stole victory, as he produced a composed performance at the heart of Chelsea’s defence to ensure that Everton’s possession was stunted.

Everton had more possession, but failed to enjoy many clear cut chances and Terry was integral to that, making eight clearances to thwart Everton attacks.

Terry won all of his duels against opponents, winning three tackles and one aerial duel, while he completed 97% of his 35 passes in the game in an unflappable performance, which saw him force Howard into that vital mistake at the end.

Performance Score

The Squawka performance score chart shows that the first half was a very even affair as the sides matched each other, but Chelsea took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second period.

While Everton’s performance did not deteriorate, Chelsea upped a gear and in the end deserved their victory as they snatched a goal at the death.

Key Observations

Everton clearly came with a game-plan that revolved around Lacina Traore playing up front and forgot to change that around once he got injured in the warm up.

Steven Naismith does not offer the same towering presence as the six foot eight Ivorian and managed to win just three of his aerial duels against two centre-backs that are very accomplished in the air.

The Scotsman failed to have a single shot on goal and didn’t even attempt a take-on as he was forced deeper and deeper into the midfield to offer little of an attacking outlet.

Chelsea’s improved second half performance came of a great tactical change by their manager however, as his decision to replace Oscar with fellow Brazilian Ramires proved inspirational in getting the Blues on the front foot.

Oscar had a poor first half as Everton’s midfield ran proceedings, completing just 13 passes in 45 minutes and lost most of his duels, winning just one tackle in the opening period, losing two and failing with his sole take-on attempt.

Ramires came on and made the midfield far more steady, winning every single one of his duels, making two successful tackles, two take-ons and even two headed duels, while he was even more of a threat going forward than Oscar, having two shots, one of which arrowed narrowly wide.