The verdict on Everton's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Hill Dickinson Stadium

Everton can only hope for a reversal in fortunes compared to last season after Chelsea inflicted their first defeat this term, with David Moyes’ men previously going eight matches unbeaten in 2026/27.

When the west London outfit made their first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium on March 21, the emphatic 3-0 victory for the hosts proved to be the high watermark of their inaugural campaign on the Mersey waterfront, moving them to within three points of a Champions League qualification place. It was an evening on which everything fell into place for the Blues.

Supporters frustrated by a sequence of Monday night slots – Sky are only supposed to hand teams five per season, but Everton ended up with seven – basked in the spring sunshine with a 5:30pm start, having given their heroes a raucous coach welcome and galvanised into action by a sense of injustice from Chelsea only being given a fine after being found guilty of making secret payments to unauthorised agents and third parties.

As Merlin Rohl, who used an image of the fans filling the streets before kick-off in a mass of humanity and smoke for the cover of his new photobook remarked at its launch here on Wednesday evening: “the supporters set the tone.” It should have been lift-off for a grandstand finish to the season but unfortunately we all know what happened next with the Blues failing to win any of their last seven matches and slumping to finish the season in 13th.

Being leapfrogged by Sunderland as the final hurdle approached was particularly galling but then Chelsea know all about that too. They also missed out on Europe having been pipped in a head-to-head by the Black Cats, even later than Everton, on the last day at the Stadium of Light.

The west London outfit’s response was typical with Liam Rosenior, the hapless head coach battered by the Mersey already having been relieved of his duties and new boss Xabi Alonso presiding over a summer transfer window that saw no fewer than 11 new faces arrive, including Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117million alone.

Such spending power highlights the magnitude of the task facing Moyes. When Chelsea defeated Everton by the same 2-0 scoreline at Stamford Bridge – a fixture in which the visitors haven't picked up three points since 1994 – it was put to him that the outcome was perhaps down to fine margins.

Bristling, the Glaswegian gaffer replied: “Maybe a billion-pound difference? Possibly, you know what I mean.”

So, in the first home fixture since The Friedkin Group announced that the club are now up for sale less than 22 months after their takeover, was this the day that the chaotic end to the transfer window finally caught up with the Blues?

Curiously, Farhad Moshiri – who unlike Dan Friedkin has attended several matches here – was watching on, but before anyone dares to get nostalgic about the chaotic reign of a billionaire accountant who suffered a brace of points deductions for financial breaches, let’s also remember he’s also the man who was willing to sell the club to 777 Partners, whose disgraced head Josh Wander this week pleaded guilty to $500million worth of fraud.

Moyes had to wait almost 20 months to land a specialist right-back but rather than snapping up his first choice Guela Doue who moved to Bayer Leverkusen on transfer deadline day, he had to make do with another recruit from Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais’ Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who arrived for £4million, a fee that Everton were already paying for Duncan Ferguson some 32 years ago when they were still winning at Stamford Bridge.

After a glorious last-gasp equaliser on his debut against Manchester United, the 29-year-old is the reason that the Blues went into this fixture unbeaten, but it’s been a tough return for him since the international break. The former Arsenal player had a hand in both Hull City’s goals six days earlier and Chelsea’s opener here came from his failure to stop the cross as Rogers backheeled to Jarrel Hato whose delivery to Pedro Neto, just a minute into the second half enabled the Portuguese international to break the deadlock.

It will be another goal that Jordan Pickford will be disappointed with. Already under scrutiny with James Trafford seemingly providing with his biggest challenge in his nine years as England number one, the 32-year-old got a hand on the shot but was unable to keep it out.

An earlier flashpoint had come before the break when Harrison Armstrong was booked for what many felt was a perfectly good challenge on Josh Acheampong and although that proved the spark for a series of other spiky exchanges, as Moyes later remarked, there wasn’t much else in the contest.

Just like when Liverpool’s third choice keeper Freddie Woodman was thrust into the Merseyside derby at the same end of the ground earlier this year, Everton failed to test Mike Penders who was making his Premier League debut for Chelsea when replacing Emi Martinez who was forced off with concussion following a challenge with Jarrad Branthwaite.

The Blues brought on Christian Norgaard for his long-awaited debut but the former Denmark international still looks well off the pace and conceded the 90th minute free-kick – there will still another 11 minutes to play largely because of Martinez’s injury – from which Chelsea doubled their lead. Vitalii Mykolenko got the loose ball stuck under his feet and a clinical Neto struck again to ensure the visitors, keeping their first Premier League clean sheet since January, were triumphant.