In retrospect, a Tim Howard red card early on might not have been a bad thing.
6 goals.
By the time I’d taken my first sip of coffee, Chelsea was already through with two of them. Two of them in the first three minutes.
But about that second goal. My understanding of the offside call is this: if the offensive player is closer to the goal than all defensive players excluding the goalie, it’s offsides. If Ivanovic wasn’t offside, I’ll eat my shoe. A good yard.
When Mirallas scored, I texted a friend: “1-0 Everton in my book.”
When the halftime whistle blew, confidence was high. Outside of those two early “goals,” Everton looked in command. They were dominating possession. They were protecting the back line. They were getting shots on goal. I was certain as the second half began that the Toffees would put in another goal early in the second half.
And they DID! They put in two more, including a strike the the new guy, another guy with consecutive identical vowels in his last name (looking at you, Steven Pienaar). Trouble was, the defense fell apart and Chelsea scored four more.
In American football, 6-3 is a fairly uncommon score, but it’s a score. I never expected to see 6-3 in an EPL game.
Thinking about the home Chelsea match the morning after, I have slightly more confidence than I did when the final whistle sounded. 3-6 at home not a fun result. But, Everton never looked out of the match. Take away the two insta-goals from the first three minutes and take away Coleman’s OG and we’re level.
Final thoughts:
1. Play John Stones.
2. Let Lukaku and Eto’o run together up front.
3. Don’t give up six goals.
After a tough two-game stretch, the schedule looks to ease with upcoming matches against bottom feeders West Brom and Crystal Palace.
Still looking for my first win as an Everton fan. Oddly, this results against Chelsea has increased my confidence that we’ll have a good season.