SAN FRANCISCO, December 13, (THEWILL) – English Premier League side Chelsea missed the chance to move top of the table at Goodison Park on Saturday as Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 22nd minute penalty secured Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti a 1-0 win over his former club.
Prior to Saturday’s fixture, Ancelotti has endured a miserable return to Stamford Bridge last season with his current employers with Everton going down 4-0 in the capital.
This time, Ancelotti came out on top against Frank Lampard, who was part of the Chelsea squad that secured a domestic double under the Italian coach in the 2009/2010 season.
The only goal of the game came thanks to an early Christmas gift from the often impeccable Edouard Mendy. The Senegalese goalkeeper needlessly charged into striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the latter attempted to get on the end of his own flick-on from Jordan Pickford’s long punt.
He made it easy for Sigurdsson to calmly roll in his attempt from the spot for his first league goal in 17 games, much to the delight of the 2,000-strong crowd inside Goodison Park.
The Blues responded brightly to falling behind. Defender Reece James struck the post with a low drive that Pickford appeared to get a slight touch to, while fellow defender Kurt Zouma, who spent a season on loan at Everton earlier in his career, planted a close-range attempt straight at the England goalkeeper.
Everton’s Richarlison failed to capitalise on a clear shooting opportunity before the break for the hosts, slipping as he struck the ball with his left foot to make Mendy’s life easier.
Almost getting a brace, Sigurdsson went close with a free-kick early in the second half and was then denied the chance to take another penalty when a VAR check found Calvert-Lewin offside prior to being bundled over by left back Ben Chilwell.
However, one goal proved enough as Chelsea failed to find an equaliser, despite Lampard introducing Tammy Abraham in place of the ineffective Kai Havertz to partner Olivier Giroud up top. And Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi was impressive throughout until his 86th minute substitution.
Also, Mason Mount saw a free-kick kept out by a post as Everton held firm, in the process securing a third successive home win over their opponents as they moved into the top half.
Chelsea are back on the road again during a full round of midweek Premier League fixtures, travelling to Wolves on Tuesday. Everton have an extra day to recover before they visit Leicester City.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
