Chelsea’s poor run of late continued as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by a much-depleted Everton side. Elsewhere, Liverpool survived an early scare and came from a goal down to beat Newcastle United 3-1.
Chelsea lost precious ground in the title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by a depleted Everton. The Blues had concerns of their own, as a late coronavirus outbreak ruled out Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, and Callum Hudson-Odoi. As such, Thomas Tuchel lined up with Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, and Mason Mount as his front three, with Ross Barkley, the only other available attacker on the bench.
The Chelsea front three – and Reece James – presented the Everton defense with plenty of problems in the first half. James missed an early opportunity to give the Blues the lead from close range while Mount drew a superb stop from Jordan Pickford – who was at the top of his game all night.
It was Mount who finally broke the deadlock to put Chelsea ahead in the 70th minute, as he collected a pass from James before beating Pickford at his near post. However, just four minutes later, Everton grabbed a surprise equalizer through youngster Jarrad Branthwaite, who touched in a ball at the far post from a set-piece. Tuchel’s men probed and probed but were unable to find any further opening – and were left to rue their missed chances.
Elsewhere, Liverpool took theirs as they came from a goal down to beat Newcastle United 3-1. Ex-Red Jonjo Shelvey put the Magpies in front in just the seventh minute, as he collected a loose clearance from Thiago Alcantara and smashed the ball into the corner from distance.
However, a dominant five minute-period between the 20th and the 25th minute saw Jurgen Klopp’s men overturn the deficit. First, it was Diogo Jota who brought the Reds level by tapping in the rebound after his initial header was saved by Martin Dubravka.
Minutes later, Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool the lead when he smashed in a loose ball at the near post after Dubravka had prevented Sadio Mane from scoring.
Trent Alexander-Arnold saved the best for last; the Englishman put his foot through the ball, launching an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from 25 yards, three minutes from time. His goal sealed the points for Liverpool, allowing them to get clear of Chelsea while keeping up with the league leaders, Manchester City.
