Everton 2-0 Chelsea: Toffees defeat struggling Blues to claim thrid consecutive victory

Mauricio Pochettino implemented significant changes to his Chelsea team following their disappointing performance in Manchester earlier in the week. In their second trip to the north-west, his side started strongly.

Enzo Fernandez's early attempt was saved brilliantly by Jordan Pickford, who had to work harder to keep Cole Palmer's long-range strike from finding the top corner.

As the game progressed, Everton grew into the contest and came close to scoring in spectacular fashion when Jack Harrison's well-struck volley narrowly missed the target.

Both teams struggled to create quality chances in the final third, and their defensive efforts were further hampered by injuries to Ashley Young and Reece James before halftime.

Sean Dyche's men had the upper hand before the break and were the first to threaten in the second half, with Dwight McNeil's powerful shot forcing an impressive save from Robert Sánchez.

Sánchez then denied Dominic Calvert-Lewin after a pass from McNeil, but he couldn't prevent Abdoulaye Doucoure from scoring on the rebound with a low strike into the bottom corner.

In an attempt to equalize, Chelsea introduced Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson, but Pickford remained relatively untroubled in the Everton goal despite the persistent pressure.

The visitors failed to find a way through and conceded again in stoppage time when Lewis Dobbin scored his first goal for Everton after substitute goalkeeper Dorđe Petrovic struggled to deal with a corner.

This back-to-back defeat under Pochettino's leadership drops Chelsea into the bottom half of the table, while Everton's resurgence continues with their fifth victory in their last six home matches against Chelsea.