Tactical Analysis Of Everton'sStunning Win Over Chelsea last week on Sunday

Chelsea were hosted by Everton at the
Goodison Park in the fifth week of the Barclays
Premier League for a mouthwateringrnencounter
that was expected to heat up more after the
saga involving John Stones in the tug of war
between these twornsides in the transfer
market. Everton had a point to prove to the
reigning champions while the Blues were aiming
to finallyrnget their season up and running after
a dismal commencement to the season. The
home side were eventually the winners
whornfed Chelsea another week of humiliation
with a 3-1 win over them and here is our
tactical analysis of Everton’s win
overrnChelsea.rnThe SetuprnEverton started off
with a 4-3-1-2 formation with Tim Howard
between the sticks shielded by the pair of John
Stones andrnPhil Jagielka at the center.
Brendan Galloway and Seamus Coleman
operated from the full backs with the added
responsibilityrnto rattle the already fragile
Chelsea full backs. Gareth Barry, Muhamed
Besic and James McCarthy operated
justrnbehind Ross Barkley who was employed
to lead the Everton attack further for Romelu
Lukaku and Arouna Kone to
capitalizernon.rnChelsea chalked their usual
4-2-3-1 formation with Asmir Begovic with the
gloves after Courtois sustained an injury in
thernfirst team training after the international
break. John Terry and Kurt Zouma were at the
heart of the defense withrnBranislav Ivanovic
and Cesar Azpilicueta on the full back slots.
The holding midfield comprised of Nemanja
Matic and JohnrnObi Mikel, the latter was put
to provide some resilience and this allowed
Fabregas to play at the number 10 spot with
EdenrnHazard and Pedro on his either sides.
Diego Costa hasn’t had the best of starts as he
once again aimed to make anrnimpact up front
for Chelsea.rnBesic’s injury changed formation
forcibly and left Chelsea cluelessrnBesic
sustained an injury in the initial minutes of the
game which compelled Roberto Martinez to
replace him with StevenrnNaismith who was
under tremendous pressure to perform which
also led to change in tactics where
RobertornMartinez sacrificed his diamond
formation for a 4-2-3-1 formation after the
substitution early into the game.

Naismith was put on the left to counter
Ivanovic who had a torrid start to the new
campaign. It wasn’t pace that rattledrnIvanovic
but it was Naismith’s lateral movements that
made Ivanovic look mediocre yet again this
season and it must bernadmitted that the shift
in formation was a blessing in disguise for the
home side.rnSound positioning and reflexes
from BegovicrnLittle do we tend to discuss the
tactical approach of a goalkeeper. Begovic was
close to impeccable against Everton with
hisrnsound positioning, confident ball
distribution and sharp reflexes that kept
Chelsea in the game. Despite conceding three
goals,rnBegovic was arguably in the list of elite
players who did perform their tasks with a
responsible attitude.rnOrchestrating by Ross
Barkley, Fabregas’ slump continuesrnEngland
international Ross Barkley played the number
10 role for Roberto Martinez’s side frequently in
the mood to raisernthe attack to a new
dimension up front. Despite having the lion’s
share of possession, Chelsea could not
capitalize. Centralrndefense pair for Chelsea
never looked handsome together with the full
backs going forward way too much than
necessary.rnFabregas had a game to forget
despite being employed in his preferred number
10 role. What the lack of creativity
byrnFabregas did was that it made the wingers
little to approach with and at the center,
Jagielka and Stones gavernaway absolutely no
room to capitalize on.