Howard is in goal. This game starts at 8:30 am eastern and will be carried on FSC and Fox Deportes. Everton: Howard, Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Naismith, Osman, Hitzlsperger, Pienaar, Anichebe, Jelavic. Subs: Mucha, Oviedo, Gueye, Barkley, Vellios, Duffy, Browning. Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Luiz, Lampard, Mata, Torres, Hazard. Subs: Turnbull, Oscar, Moses, Ferreira, Marin, Piazon, Ake. Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
That was a lovely sequence for Everton. Pienaar absolutely shredded Chelsea with that initial pass and it was a great ball swung into Anichebe who did everso well to get a head on it only to ring the ball off the post. Pienaar followed the play and had a relative easy ball to finish.
That damn post again stones Everton! Jevalic has a brilliant FK that completely freezes Cech but it dings off the post. So unlucky not to be up by two goals in the opening 10 minutes.
1-1 at the half Howard had an important foot save against Mata. His distribution has been off at times sending one kick out of bounds and sending a bouncing ball to Hitzlsperger who was put under pressure pretty quickly. Hitzlsperger did well to control and find a teammate. Also, late in the half he athletically volleyed away a bouncing ball at the edge of the box.
The commentators acknowledged that Howard has not been in good form - not that he could do anything about Lampard's goal.
Torres was flagged for offsides on that one. Howard beats away a well hit Torres shot from the top of the box that was slightly to Howard's left. He then grabs and holds a corner while under pressure from Cahill.
Howard does well to save to save a Mata strike from 8 yards out, but the rebound goes right to an unmarked Lampard who just manages to avoid skying his shot over the cross bar. 2-1 Chelsea Jelavic had a fantastic header that hit the cross bar on the other end not long before the goal.
so far? pretty unlucky, though they should've been reminded that Lampard is still on the team and requires to be marked until he is no longer with Chelsea.