As dominant as Chelsea were at Goodison Park, Jose Mourinho admits his side were too wasteful in front of goal to claim all three points on Saturday evening.
The Londoners would have returned to the top of the Premier League standings with a win at Everton, who also started the match unbeaten having drawn all of their three previous outings. The early running suggested it would be the visitors who would protect their record, but debutant Samuel Eto’o wasted a glorious chance to put them in front when he headed wide.
The Cameroon international was also wasteful when he allowed Gareth Barry to slide in and deny him an open goal, whilst Andre Schurrle also shot high and wide with only Tim Howard left to beat. In all, Chelsea had 21 shots during the course of the 90 minutes, yet were unable to register. In contrast the Toffees had just the 11 attempts to beat Petr Cech, but Steven Naismith’s header in first half injury time proved all they needed to record a first win of the season.
“We didn’t deserve it (to lose) because we were the best team, because we play the best football, because we dominate the whole game, because we had 21 shots, because we risk everything we could…,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “In that sense it is fair to say we deserved to win the game.
“But the other way, a team that has 21 shots, some of them easy shots and easy situations to score and we don’t score and we have a mistake in the last minute of the first half…Maybe with that I should say we deserve to lose. It was not just him (Eto’o). I think Schurrle has missed three big chances to score, other players also had chances, but I don’t like to be critical.”
During his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, it took nine matches for Mourinho to taste defeat; this time round, he has lost in his fourth game. The Portuguese will demand his team to bounce back when they take on FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, before they resume their Premier League programme with the visit of Fulham on Saturday.
As for Martinez, this win over Chelsea highlights the impressive start he has made at Everton. The former Wigan Athletic boss has introduced a more eye-catching style of play to the Merseyside outfit, and although they had to dig in to secure the result against Mourinho’s side, there were passages of the match in which their football was evident of the Spaniard’s style.
“It feels really, really good because it was a special game, a special opposition and a very good performance,” Martinez told Sky Sports. “We are still going through a transitional period and I think the crowd understands that and as players we understand that. But in the manner that we’ve been able to defend, sensing danger and coping with one-on-ones then I thought it was superb.”
