When Chelsea made their annual trip to Goodison Park on Saturday, August 30th, few would have expected what would unfold on Merseyside that evening.
Amongst the home fans, there was a mood of quiet optimism prior to kick-off; that after clumsily letting points slip through their grasp in their first two games, they would showcase their top 4 credentials against a Chelsea side that had started their own campaign in imperious fashion.
And yet, what transpired was, in a sense, a game that encapsulated Everton as a team. Breathtaking and valiant at times, the Blues still seemingly have the ability to self-destruct, making for excruciatingly painful viewing for every Evertonian.
Only 270 seconds had been played by the time Everton found themselves in the rare predicament of being two goals down at home. Some shambolic defending and questionable refereeing had conspired to leave Everton with an uphill task almost straight from the offset. It was an error-strewn beginning to a game that had promised so much for the Blues.
However, the remaining 42 minutes of the first period really epitomised Everton's fighting spirit; Chelsea rarely threatened again in the first half, while Everton hit the bar and had a goal ruled out before Kevin Mirallas halved the deficit on the stroke of the half-time whistle. Even the impressive Diego Costa found himself helping out at the back on numerous occasions in the first half.
The Blues continued in the same vein as the second half began, testing Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois time and again, albeit to no avail. Around Goodison, though, you could sense both the atmosphere and confidence building amongst the home fans. There seemed to be a real feeling, without around 25 minutes remaining, that Goodison Park would witness another commendable fightback from a gutsy, courageous Everton side.
Then the madness began, as Chelsea scored 3 goals in 10 minutes, with each asking serious questions of what was so recently one of the most enviable and impenetrable back line.
The frustration, however, is that in-between each of these Chelsea goals, Everton managed to find a goal back every time. The stark contrast between the Toffees' attack and defence was plain for all to see; two smart finishes from Steven Naismith and Samuel Eto'o followed so soon after by slack defending being ruthlessly punished. Even by Everton's standards, it was becoming an increasingly frustrating game to sit through.
Muhamed Besic capped off a disappointing day with a ludicrous, needless decision to try and flick a clever ball back to Phil Jagielka in injury time. His first touch in English football however, landed at the feet of John Obi Mikel, who fed Costa, who duly punished the young Bosnian's mistake.
What is unusual about a heavy home defeat, however, is that Roberto Martinez can undoubtedly take several positives from today. Naismith's renaissance shows no sign of ending, while the likes of Mirallas, Eto'o and Aiden McGeady put in credible performances, too. Having scored 7 goals in our first 3 games, 5 of which coming against Arsenal and Chelsea, the Blues' attacking play has generally been very pleasing thus far in the campaign.
Everton's resilience will also please Roberto Martinez. It would have been far easier for the Toffees to roll over and take a heavier beating from Chelsea but, even though the margin finished at 3 goals, no-one could deny that Everton certainly made a fist of things, and gave Chelsea a difficult examination of their title credentials at times.
The obvious negative, though, is Everton's frankly unforgivable defending. Arguably, you could make a case for each of Chelsea's 6 goals being preventable.
In goal, Tim Howard put in an uncharacteristically poor performance here. The American international will perhaps be disappointed with some of the goals he conceded, and on two occasions, he ran the risk of being sent off. Early in the first half, Howard clearly picked up the ball outside of his area, something that referee Jon Moss failed to spot, while he then wrapped his hands around Costa's neck following Chelsea's third goal. Sadly, his performances in the early stages of this campaign have been a far cry from his heroics at the World Cup or indeed from his almost entire Everton career.
The same can also be said for several other starters today, in particular Phil Jagielka. Everton's captain and a loyal servant to the club, Jagielka endured one of his darkest days in the royal blue shirt. For someone who has been a fixture in Everton's side for the last 7 years, it was unusual, and painful at times, to see Jagielka so errant. Lack of communication and simply being bullied by Chelsea's exceptional forwards made it a day to forget for the centre-half, with some fans questioning whether the 32 year-old's best days are now well and truly behind him.
Leighton Baines also put in some fairly uninspiring displays since returning from the World Cup. While he is, in my opinion, one of world football's best full-backs, Baines also had a difficult time here, and did not show as much of a threat going forward as fellow full-back, Seamus Coleman. His crosses, in particular, were not up to the standard that we have come to expect from Baines, barring his assist for Eto’o’s header, whilst he too had a tough afternoon dealing with Chelsea's potent attack. You wonder whether, like Jagielka, the short trip to Brazil has taken its toll on Baines and whether both have in fact fully recovered; doubts can certainly be cast.
In truth, the likes of Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas ran the entire defence ragged every time they ventured forward. It was startling to see nobody willing to put a tackle in, rather choosing to back off and allow Chelsea to come onto us. And because of the quality of their attack, perhaps it should be no wonder that we shipped 6 goals in the end.
The back four were not helped, either, by the indifferent performances put in by the usually dependable Gareth Barry and James McCarthy. An exemplary partnership last campaign, both had a testing time today, with questions asked as to whether Barry, now 33, still has the legs to replicate such a high level of performance as last season. Certainly, a 3-year deal for the veteran seems a generous move from the club.
Romelu Lukaku also came in for criticism for his performance against his old club, and generally such criticism is justified in my opinion. The Belgian was on the periphery for much of the game, with his ball control and hold-up play letting him down yet again. A towering header hit the crossbar at 2-0, but that was all Lukaku really had to offer the Blues here. Despite being about a taller than Naismith, it was the Scot who won more aerial battles over the 90 minutes, with his tireless, hard-working display putting Lukaku to shame. Later, he then cheaply gave away possession to Chelsea which led to their fifth goal, continuing what has been a lethargic, sluggish start to the campaign for our record signing.
Simply, the problem could lie that the squad is not fit enough, a problem that has been highlighted by several others already this season. It is always a harder pre-season when following a major tournament, especially the World Cup, because rarely do you have your entire squad all together. After a somewhat haphazard pre-season schedule, where Everton won none of their friendlies (read into that as much or as little as you want), it is evident that too many first-team regulars are, frustratingly, still not 100%. Certainly, Chelsea exposed our frailties brutally today, and it all began because we were simply not as quick out of the blocks as they were. Whether you put this down to ageing players or lack of fitness, or indeed both, is up to you.
However, there is certainly reason to be positive. We played a team that possesses phenomenal, world class individuals, who were also fortunate enough to have almost the entirety of refereeing decisions go their way. On another day, or against less talented opposition, Everton may well have walked away with 3 points today. With West Brom and Crystal Palace up next for the Blues, it is key, and surely likely, that Everton pick up their first wins of the new campaign.
Of course, the transfer window is still open, albeit nearing its conclusion, and on the evidence of the season so far, it is imperative that Everton bring in reinforcements at the back. I am not suggesting that the likes of Jagielka should be dropped indefinitely, but at the very least, we need fresh legs and fresh competition at the back. The Europa League campaign, as well as the cup competitions, would surely promise any arrival regular first-team football.
So while, on the face of it, today may go down as one of Martinez's worst days at Everton so far, and there is undeniably room for improvement in the squad at this moment, it would take someone very naïve to write off a season that promises so much for Everton before it has barely even begun.