Everton manager Rafael Benitez and his players deserve praise for battling to a 1-1 draw at the home of title contenders Chelsea despite missing several of their first team players due to respective injuries. Benitez had to field several youth team players against Chelsea and they repaid him with a battling display on the collective front though Chelsea have themselves to blame for the draw which has dented their Premier League title hopes for this season. Chelsea players were wasteful in front of goal and that would have in no doubt left their fans frustrated as they lost further grounds on the top two teams namely Liverpool and Manchester City.

Chelsea are going for the Premier League title with Manchester City and Liverpool in a three-horse race, but it looks like Chelsea are the first to properly blink in the title race and this is mainly due to their erratic home form since last month. After the draw with Everton, Chelsea have now drawn three of their last four league games at home.

England international Reece James had the first team chance of the game between Chelsea and Everton. James should have scored but he hit the side net with his strike. The lively James then created a good opportunity for Mount whose shot also hit the side net. England man Mount then had his shot saved from close range by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford when he should have scored. The missed chances from Mount and James ensured that Chelsea and Everton went into the break on level terms.

Mount missed two good chances in the first half and he didn’t make a mistake with his third good chance of the game on 70 minutes when he scored the game’s opening goal. Everton then equalised four minutes later through young centre back Jarrod Branthwaite to secure a point for his team.