The deduction that could have doomed Everton has instead roused them to reach new heights. Even a £1bn outlay could not get Chelsea victory at their bogey ground of Goodison Park as Everton again turned adversity to their advantage. They had had 10 points sliced from their tally but they have recovered nine of them in nine days, rallying when they could have been forgiven for feeling sorry for themselves, offering an object lesson in the earthy values of obduracy, industry and unity that Chelsea could do with heeding.
Like Nottingham Forest and Newcastle before them, Chelsea discovered that Everton have a unique kind of formidability. The supporters remain fuelled by a sense of injustice at the independent commission’s decision to give them the heaviest penalty in Premier League history – they chorused precisely where they could stick the points deduction. The realist in Sean Dyche has rationalised that there is no guarantee their appeal will result in any points being restored. He has simply got on with the task of securing enough on the pitch, giving a working-class club a work ethic, forging a purposeful, powerful team.
And he has led Everton to three straight league wins – something they had last accomplished under the more celebrated figure of Carlo Ancelotti. Each has been built on a clean sheet. Like Newcastle, Chelsea conceded to Abdoulaye Doucoure, one of the great revelations of Dyche’s reign. The Ancelotti signing’s reinvention as a goalscorer brought his sixth strike in 15 games. Until Lewis Dobbin scored his first Everton goal to seal victory in injury time, they had still required a rearguard action to hold on to the lead, but James Tarkowski is rarely happier than when flinging his body at the ball, and he had willing allies in his defiant sidekicks.
A ninth win in 13 games in all competitions – something they had not accomplished since 2014, in the heady days under Roberto Martinez – was another sign of their swift progress under Dyche. He may be the least glamorous managerial appointment in history but, thus far, few are doing a better job than Dyche this season.
Mauricio Pochettino certainly is not. Beaten at St James’ Park two weeks ago and at Old Trafford on Wednesday, it was another pointless trip north for Chelsea. They could cite the pressure they exerted after Doucoure scored, with a shot count that showed them far ahead of Everton, or the 72 per cent of possession they had. None of that mattered in the final reckoning. The more streetwise, more dogged, more inspired team won.
Certainly Everton had to display their Dychean grit. Vitalii Mykolenko was outstanding, with seven tackles and six blocks rendering him arguably the man of the match. The precocious Jarrad Branthwaite’s reading of the game proved invaluable. Jordan Pickford made two terrific early saves, repelling Enzo Fernandez’s shot and resorting to the spectacular to claw away Cole Palmer’s curler. He was kept busy thereafter, too, in part because of a frailty on the right of the Everton back four.
Vitalii Mykolenko was immense in defence as Everton had to display their Dychean grit to seal the points at Goodison Park— (AP)
Pochettino had demoted Raheem Sterling after the loss to Manchester United, pitting Mykhailo Mudryk into an unfair contest against Ashley Young; it was unfair for the much older man and something of a merciful release when injury compelled Dyche to remove him before the break. By then the turbo-charged Mudryk had been the supplier when Armando Broja – an Everton target during Frank Lampard’s tenure – shot over. The Ukrainian remained the danger man but a booking for kicking the ball away was an illustration of his frustration.
If Everton had begun slowly, it was understandable; they had a day less to prepare and Dyche sent out 10 of the starters who beat Newcastle. They posed insufficient threat in a scrappy first half but were better after the break. Robert Sanchez had to excel to save Dwight McNeil’s sharp shot but it only postponed the breakthrough.
Everton could celebrate recovering nine points in nine days after 10 were sliced from their tally in the Premier League— (Reuters)
The relentless McNeil drove forward from the halfway line and supplied a slide-rule pass for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Sanchez came out to bravely block the striker’s shot but Doucoure drove in the rebound.
Sanchez was to go off injured, as Reece James had before him. But substitute goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic only managed a tame punch at James Garner’s corner and substitute Dobbin rifled a shot through a crowded penalty area. Nine years after joining Everton at the age of 11, he helped them grab back nine points.
The only downsides to their afternoon were the bookings Branthwaite and Idrissa Gueye collected, meaning each is banned for Dyche’s reunion with Burnley. But they were minor setbacks amid a colossal effort. As the last week has proved, Everton have been hit with far heavier blows. They have bounced back up again. And from what could have been the ashes of a campaign, they have found their best form in years.
