Ben Chilwell has picked out what went wrong in the second half for Chelsea as they fell to a disappointing 2-2 draw to Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The left wingback had helped create the first goal of the game but saw his side quickly pegged back.
The Blues then took the lead once more but couldn't hold on as the Toffees picked up a valuable point on the road at the expense of Chelsea and their brief three match winning run. It leaves Chilwell and his teammates on a downer heading into the international break after positivity had built in the past two weeks.
Although the result itself has very little effect on the outcome of the league season for Graham Potter and his side, Chelsea once more failed to win at home, taking just 11 points from last possible 27 at SW6. It was the manor of the draw more than anything that annoyed Chilwell.
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"We’re disappointed not to win the game and really frustrated to concede so late on," he told the club website. "I think we dominated in the first half. We created a lot of chances but unfortunately we just couldn’t take them. Then in the second half, I think we probably played into their hands a little bit. The game became a bit of a fight, it became a lot scrappier and that suited them."
The Blues fell off after the break despite scoring twice. Their rhythm and flow had little match for the added aggression and intensity of the desperate visitors. Once more after going ahead Potter chose to try and seal up the victory only for his side to make a mess of doing just that.
"They got their equaliser which gave them a boost but when Kai [Havertz] scored a great penalty, we thought that would put us where we needed to be to see the game out," Chilwell explained. "So that’s really frustrating. We didn’t keep the ball well enough, they’ve scored on the counter-attack to make it 2-2 and we’re all very disappointed with that."
Having controlled the first half and been good value for the lead it was a similar story to Leicester in that Chelsea then gifted their opponents a way back into the match and struggled once the game got out of their control.
"We’re disappointed to concede from a set-piece," continued the 25-year-old. "We knew that would probably be where they’d be most dangerous from and we worked on that leading up to the game, so that’s very disappointing.
"Listen, we want to win every game but particularly those at home. We drive high standards at this club and we need to see those sort of games out. We’ve been on a good run recently, we’re definitely heading in the right direction, but this is a minor setback that we need to put right after the international break."
It's the second time already this season that a late goal conceded at home has seen Potter drop two points. Manchester United also grabbed a stoppage time equaliser at SW6 in a 2-2 draw in October. The same thing was on show once more.
The focus will turn quickly towards the Champions League once club football resumes in two weeks. Those two ties against Real Madrid will define just how much of a damaging season can be salvaged. It will require real skill to get past the reigning champions though and Joao Felix's quality will undoubtedly be needed.
The Portuguese forward scored his first goal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and has added a new spark to the attack, even if it does still lack the consistency and clinical touch needed. "Joao took his goal very well but you expect that from him because he’s a brilliant player," Chilwell said.
"He’s very technically gifted but he also brings so much to the team in terms of his work rate. He’s been a bit unlucky in recent weeks, he’s hit the woodwork a few times, but he gets himself into great positions and he deserved his goal."
Felix and Chilwell will both be away with their countries now but have plenty to build on upon the return.
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