Chelsea vs Everton LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Live reaction from Stamford Bridge as Thomas Tuchel’s side failed to close the gap on leaders Manchester City
Follow live reaction as Chelsea were held to a draw by a depleted Everton side at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were the dominant team throughout but failed to capitalise on their possession as Thomas Tuchel’s side slipped four points behind leaders Manchester City after losing ground in the the Premier League title race.
Mason Mount thought he had earned Chelsea the win when he finished past Jordan Pickford to give the Blues the lead in the 70th minute, but Everton hit straight back when 19-year-old defender Jarrad Branthwaite equalised from Anthony Gordon’s corner four minutes later. Pickford then made a crucial save to deny Thiago Silva’s header low down, but Chelsea were poor and unable to create any further chances.
Everton, who were missing 12 first-team players due to injury or illness, deserved their point after putting in a battling performance for under-fire manager Rafael Benitez. Chelsea were without Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi after they tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
Follow live updates and team news below:
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
13 mins: More good play from Chelsea, again from Ziyech who drives into the inside left channel before flashing a shot across goal. It forces a solid save from Pickford and Everton clear the corner.
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
11 mins: Lovely from Chelsea. Ziyech rolls Holgate with a clever dummy and squares to Mount, but his flicked finish is straight at Pickford.
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
8 mins: Just wide! Lovely move from Chelsea. Jorginho hits James in a central pocket of space and the wing-back drives forward. He slips in Mount, in a familiar position to his previous chance, but the forward drags his shoot wide.
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
6 mins: Chance! It should be 1-0 Chelsea! Jorginho slices Everton open as he slips in James - but Chelsea’s top scorer shoots wide of the near post!
Chelsea 0-0 Everton
3 mins: Jonjoe Kenny is making his first Everton start since September 2020 as he fills in at right back for the injured Seamus Coleman. He rolls a pass straight out of play as he looks for Anthony Gordon. Everton have settled fairly well, though.
Chelsea vs Everton
The teams are out at Stamford Bridge. After all the chaos of today and the uncertainty of Covid-19, we have a game.
This is a seriously tough ask for depleted Everton - but Chelsea have plenty of absences themselves.
Chelsea vs Everton
Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi were ruled out of Chelsea’s home fixture against Everton after testing positive for Covid-19, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed.
Ben Chilwell, already an injury absentee, was the fourth positive test to emerge in the Chelsea squad while Kai Havertz was reported to be feeling “unwell” and is waiting further test results.
Chelsea’s Premier League match against Everton is going ahead as planned despite four further matches being postponed on Thursday night ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.
Everton’s match against Leicester was one of the matches to be called off due to Covid-19, bringing the total number of postponed games this week up to nine.
“We did some extra tests at 12 o’clock today to make sure who would arrive at lunch,” Tuchel said. “From there we had to pick the team. Would it be the same line-up? I don’t know. The situation started yesterday with the players feeling unwell and not training.
“We had to confirm the flow tests and wait for the PCR results. The results are the results and the situation is the situation. We still have a strong squad and one we want to push forward, and that should be able to compete. Like always, we focus on the guys who are there.”
Chelsea vs Everton
The Premier League is insistent on continuing the season without any pause, despite an increasing number of English clubs being willing to back Thomas Frank’s call for a circuit break until at least 26 December, according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney.
Tonight’s wave of postponements means that there have been nine matches called off due to the spread of the Omicron variant this week.
Premier League not planning for Covid circuit break despite raft of postponements
The advice clubs are getting is that this will prove a ‘short and sharp wave’ despite the Omicron variant rampaging through a number of teams
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