The atmosphere was electric in Merseyside, as Steven Naismith scored three goals to lead Everton to victory over Chelsea.

The Blues looked dangerous on the attack at times, but despite their efforts, they could not beat a confident Everton side. As a result, Chelsea have now lost three games in their first five.

Early lead for Everton

Naismith came on as a sub for the injured Muhamed Besic in the ninth minute and quickly proved to be the man of the match. Coming off the bench and getting behind a struggling Chelsea defence to score one brilliant goal in the 17th minute, and another just five minutes later. Naismith did well to find runs through the heart of Chelsea's back line.

Chelsea's defence looked shaky, allowing the run which led to Naismith's first goal and the shot from 25 yards out which led to his second. The Blues did look more solid in the back at times when there was not as much danger, but in absolutely critical moments, there were holes in their back line that Naismith could slip through.

Matic scores once to bring hope to the Blues

Chelsea thought they could still make something of this match when Nemanja Matic responded in the 36th minute with a brilliant strike to make the score 2-1. For the next 46 minutes, the match became a quest for an equaliser which saw Chelsea constantly on the attack and Everton's defence shutting them down at every turn.

Half-time: Everton 2-1 Chelsea: A brace from Naismith gave the Toffees an early lead, but a superb strike from Matic kept Chelsea in the game during the first 45 minutes.

Chelsea's second half struggle to come back

Chelsea put pressure on Everton's back line in the second half, and it looked as if the question of the match was whether the scoreline at the end would read 2-1 or 2-2.

However, despite the Blues' 15 attempts to score, only two were on target, and they struggled to beat a well put together Everton defence.

Chelsea were unable to convert any of their 14 corner kicks this match, and Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, who were so influential last season, found they could not outsmart Everton's back line. 

Chelsea's young target John Stones looked especially bright this game, shutting down opportunities for Chelsea and controlling the ball with ease, much to the dismay of a Chelsea side that would have liked to see him on their defensive end.

Pressure continued to build as the minutes ticked on, and both sides looked desperate on either end of the pitch to decide the outcome of the game.

Naismith's hat trick seals Everton's win

Ultimately, the only goal of the second half came not from the Premier League champions to tie up the score, but from none other than Naismith to complete his hat trick and ensure Everton's win.

Ross Barkley picked out Naismith through the heart of Chelsea's back line, who then struck the ball under Asmir Begovic to decide the game.

The match was all but over after the completion of Naismith's hat trick as Chelsea were unable to find another goal to try to even out the score, and the match ended with another three points for Everton and another loss for last season's champions.

Full time: Thrilling action on both ends of the pitch ends in Chelsea's third loss in five games and a deserved three points for Everton at Merseyside due to a hat trick from Man of the Match Naismith.

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