Everton turn up heat on Rosenior as Beto double and Ndiaye sink Chelsea

It was left to Everton to impose the only serious sporting sanction of the week on Chelsea. Treated with extreme leniency by the Premier League for cheating over a seven-year period, the Stamford Bridge club were left battered and bruised, and Liam Rosenior in a whole world of trouble, as Hill Dickinson Stadium witnessed the finest act of its eight-month existence.

David Moyes’s team were relentless, creative and clinical – everything their opponents were not – as two goals from Beto and a brilliant finish from Iliman Ndiaye delivered Everton’s biggest win against Chelsea since 1987. The 100th clean sheet of Jordan Pickford’s Everton career was secured with two outstanding saves from Enzo Fernández but, in truth, the threat from the visitors was minimal.

A fourth consecutive defeat for Rosenior’s side, and second 3-0 pummelling in succession, maintained their downward trajectory under the former Strasbourg coach. Everton, delivering back-to-back league wins for the first time at their new home, appear a stronger bet for European qualification than Chelsea on present form. “I don’t want to make excuses, that was not good enough,” Rosenior said. “The last week was not good enough. This was the most disappointing evening so far in terms of the things we had spoken about – not giving goals away and getting control of the game. The performance was nowhere near what we wanted or expected.”

For Everton this was a script to savour. The backing for Moyes’s side was as intense as their performance. The team coach was welcomed by a huge crowd as it snaked its way into the stadium while the atmosphere inside had a touch of Goodison Park about it, loud and edgy. Anger was a key ingredient.

The announcement that Chelsea had been fined £10.75m and banned from signing academy players for nine months, having engaged in “deception and concealment” under Roman Abramovich’s ownership, sparked incredulity at Everton. The Merseyside club were hit with two separate points deductions for breaching profitability and sustainability rules in 2023/24. Chelsea’s punishment for making illicit payments totalling £47.5m to sign players paled in comparison.

Beto races away in delight after scoring for Everton in their victory. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

There is “the need to preserve public confidence in the fairness of the competition,” says the Premier League in the written reasons for Chelsea’s sanction. That ship has sailed in these parts. The Premier League anthem was roundly booed before kick-off and there were chants and banners questioning the integrity of the league from the Everton support. Moyes’s players fed off the indignation that surrounded them.

Everton were sharper and stronger throughout. An error-strewn opening by Chelsea contributed to the hosts’ superiority. Robert Sánchez was almost embarrassed by Beto when dithering in possession. The beleaguered Chelsea goalkeeper just managed to flick the loose ball to Moisés Caicedo before the striker could convert. Another loose pass by Pedro Neto led to the game’s first real opening for James Garner – “head and shoulders the best player on the pitch,” according to his manager – and Malo Gusto blocked the midfielder’s shot.

Chelsea were just showing signs of a response when Everton ignited the arena by making the breakthrough. Garner, deservedly called into the England squad for the first time on Friday, was the architect of a beautiful goal when threading an inch-perfect pass through the heart of the Chelsea defence. Beto, ghosting in behind Wesley Fofana, reached the invitation before Sánchez and dinked a fine finish over the goalkeeper.

Iliman Ndiaye fires Everton’s third goal past a diving Robert Sánchez. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

But for the brilliance of Pickford, the visitors would have levelled immediately. The Everton keeper could only palm Neto’s corner towards Fernández when crowded out at his near post but left the Chelsea midfielder, and several other players, with their heads in their hands by tipping over his acrobatic volley at close range. Pickford made another fine finger-tip save from Fernández early in the second half.

Rosenior introduced Alejandro Garnacho for Gusto at half-time, Caicedo switching to right back, but there was no let-up in Everton’s intensity nor improvement from the visitors. The second goal encapsulated the difference in hunger and quality between the teams. Idrissa Gueye beat two Chelsea players, Marc Cucurella and Fernández, to the substitute Andrey Santos’s pass and surged 40 yards towards goal. He found Beto inside the area, who swept a powerful shot straight at Sánchez yet it somehow squirmed through the keeper and trickled over the line.

Everton saved their best until last. Beto climbed highest to flick a Pickford goal-kick towards Ndiaye, who twisted Caicedo inside and out before lashing an unstoppable finish into the top corner. There was an audible buzz around the stadium for several minutes as Evertonians savoured the strike. Chelsea fans took their cue to head for the exits.

“That was our best performance here, absolutely,” said Moyes. “From the first minute we were right on it. It was a big game and the crowd made it feel like a big game, so a big thank you to the supporters for the part they played tonight.”