Chelsea 0-0 Everton: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis, Premier League 2018/19

#2 The first-half was uninspiring yet hard fought

The first 45 minutes saw way too many tussles and fouls

The fact that it took 40 minutes for the game to see its first shot on target indicates the pace and nature of the contest. Although it was a hard-fought, tactically challenging contest, those first 45 minutes or so turned out to be an absolute snooze fest.

There were a lot of plays broken at the center of the park, with Idrissa Gueye and Andre Gomes being tested almost every minute along with the likes of Jorginho and N'Golo Kante.

The Everton medical staff was called upon more often than many of the men on the pitch. It started with Sigurdsson, followed by Theo Walcott and then Lucas Digne. All of them stumbled and took their own time to get up - something that miserably killed the flow of proceedings.

Yes, Chelsea were moving it slow and there was a lack of creativity in their approach, but huge credit goes to Everton for the extra miles they covered and the spaces they shut down.

In total, there were seven yellow cards shown in the game. Tells the story.