Steven Naismith scored a hat-trick to give Everton a 3-1 win over Chelsea at Goodison Park in the Premier League this afternoon.
The striker came off the bench early on following an injury to Muhamed Besic, scoring twice in the first half before adding his third late on.
Nemanja Matic scored shortly before half time to give Chelsea some hope, but they were unable to get back on level terms.
Sports Mole takes a closer look at the result.
Match statistics
EVERTON
Shots: 14
On target: 9
Possession: 39%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 12
CHELSEA
Shots: 15
On target: 2
Possession: 61%
Corners: 14
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
Everton thoroughly deserved their victory this afternoon, creating by far the better chances despite the visitors dominating possession. Chelsea had one 15-minute spell of dominance towards the end of the first half, but otherwise rarely looked in control of the situation. The champions always looked vulnerable when Everton were on the counter-attack, and could have easily been further behind in the first half but for a couple of excellent saves from Asmir Begovic. Individually, Chelsea's players did not play badly, but they did not work together as a team, allowing Everton to look a class apart throughout the match.
Everton's performance
As soon as Steven Naismith came off the bench Everton started to threaten the Chelsea goal, and rarely looked like letting their opponents back into the match. Naismith, Romelu Luakaku and Ross Barkley worked well as an attacking unit, regularly wrong-footing the Chelsea back four. At the back, John Stones and Phil Jagielka continued their solid partnership, helping limit Tim Howard's workload in the Everton goal. It was a real team performance from Roberto Martinez's side.
Chelsea's performance
Chelsea looked vulnerable at the back throughout the first half, with Kurt Zouma regularly being left exposed as Branislav Ivanovic stayed forward too often. Zouma and Terry never looked entirely comfortable working alongside each other, almost allowing Naismith to score a fourth in stoppage time as they each waited for the other to make the clearance. Up front, there was plenty of intent from the likes of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, but the visitors just could not get the ball into the right areas to stretch the Everton defence. Chelsea looked like a side that are still learning how to play together.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Steven Naismith: Besic's early injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the hosts as it allowed them to send Steven Naismith on in his place, and the Scottish international was just sensational. The striker was causing problems in the Chelsea box within minutes, and scored twice in the space of five minutes before half time. As Chelsea pushed for a late equaliser, Naismith was happy to drop back in defence, making a few clearances, before getting back down the other end to complete the perfect hat-trick as he added a left-footed slice to his header and right-footed rocket from the opening 45 minutes.
Biggest gaffe
John Terry had a couple of difficulties at the back on his return from a one-match suspension this afternoon, and was lucky not to give away a free kick inside the box in the second half. Asmir Begovic appeared to be in control of the situation after parrying a strike from Romelu Lukaku, but the defender misread the situation and ended up getting away with a back pass to the keeper. It was totally unnecessary, and could have really cost his side.
Referee performance
Aside from missing the incident with Terry's back pass, there was not too much for Andre Marriner to worry about this afternoon. There were plenty of physical tackles from both sides, as well as a few heated exchanged involving Diego Costa, but the referee let the game flow nicely.
What next?
Everton: Roberto Martinez will head back to the Liberty Stadium next weekend as his side face Swansea City.
Chelsea: Chelsea are in action in midweek, hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv in their first match in the group stage of the Champions League ahead of next weekend's Premier League clash with Arsenal.
Sian Cowper
