Everton 2-0 Chelsea: Doucoure & Dobbin pile misery on Pochettino’s Blues amid James & Sanchez injury blows

Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday afternoon at Goodison Park as their Premier League troubles continued.

Abdoulaye Doucouré and Lewis Dobbin’s second half goals handed Everton another victory to move them further clear of the relegation zone.

Chelsea, who were dreadful against Manchester United, started well at Goodison, with Mykhailo Mudryk enjoying the opening ten minutes against Ashley Young, who was forced off four minutes before half-time due to an injury.

Pochettino’s side had several chances in the opening 45 to break the deadlock. Jordan Pickford denied both Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer in the first half, as Jordan Branthwaite looked to thwart Armando Broja’s presence up top after he was chosen to lead the line in replace of Nicolas Jackson.

Injuries have been the story of Chelsea’s season thus far and captain Reece James, who has already spent time on the sidelines, suffered another setback. He was forced off after 27 minutes for Levi Colwill, another dropped from Wednesday’s defeat to Man United.

Despite dominating possession, it was level at half-time. Everton fancied their chances, bringing on Amadou Onana in the midfield for Idrissa Gana Gueye, who was also shown a yellow card by Michael Oliver.

Everton almost took the lead five minutes into the second half. Dwight McNeil found half a yard of space on the edge of the box before striking into the bottom corner, but Robert Sanchez matched his effort to make a fine save down to his right-hand side.

Abdoulaye Doucouré did put the hosts ahead in the 55th minute. McNeil slipped in Calvert-Lewin, who was initially denied by Sanchez, it fell to Doucouré and he made no mistake by calmly finding the bottom corner.

No immediate changes were made by Pochettino on the touchline. Jackson and Raheem Sterling, both dropped to the bench, were called upon by the Argentine replacing Enzo and Broja as Chelsea desperately searched for a way back into the game.

Sanchez was forced off due to injury. Djordje Petrovic came on for the final seven minutes, making his Chelsea debut. Ian Maatsen was also brought on for Cucurella, with Chelsea looking for a leveller in the final stages.

Lewis Dobbin compounded the misery on Chelsea by doubling Everton’s lead in the final minutes to secure another win for Sean Dyche’s Toffees.

Pochettino’s side suffered back-to-back defeats, both coming in the north west, piling further pressure on Chelsea’s current decline which sees them now in 12th.