everton 1-2

The Times

Louis Saha strikes at the double as Chelsea's lead at the top is cut to a point
Everton 2 Chelsea 1

James Ducker, Northern Football Correspondent

John Terry has probably had nightmares about all manner of things in recent weeks, and now he can add Louis Saha to that long list of tormentors.
It has been a chastening time off the field for the disgraced former England captain, but his problems extended to the pitch last night, the Chelsea defender showing the first signs that the very public fallout from his extra-marital activities is taking its toll.
Attributing the lapses of concentration that handed Everton their first win against these opponents for 9½ years solely to Terry’s personal problems would do a great injustice to Saha, who, on this form, might have terrorised anyone, but the Chelsea captain looked very much like a man whose mind was elsewhere.
Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant manager, did his best to defend the player, but the fact that he has been granted some time off to address what must still represent a huge elephant in the dressing room tells its own story.
There is a danger that Terry’s blunders will overshadow the bigger picture, which is the Barclays Premier League title race, but on that front Chelsea should probably just be thankful that Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.
Although they rallied late on, Didier Drogba hitting the crossbar with a header from a Frank Lampard corner, Chelsea were deservedly beaten by an Everton team who refused to be fazed, despite going behind to Florent Malouda’s seventeenth-minute strike.
Carlo Ancelotti may not have been in England long, but the irony that it was a former United striker who inflicted the damage will not have been lost on the Chelsea manager.
Perhaps, having endured such a tormenting time at Old Trafford, one plagued by injury after injury, Saha felt that he still owed his old club something. He also deserved credit for not allowing a saved first-half penalty to dent his confidence.
Terry, for one, will not forget the experience in a hurry, even if he would like to, although Ancelotti — who had billed this as a potentially decisive week in the title race — will be less concerned about his captain’s personal welfare than his team’s continuing inability to defend setpieces.
Everton’s record against the established “big four” under David Moyes has been patchy to say the least — only seven wins in 76 matches in all competitions — but it was Chelsea, much like a lock that just will not be picked, who had proved a particular headache for the Merseyside club.
Their last win against the West London side was in November 2000 and, despite having had 22 stabs of his own at correcting that imbalance going into this game, Moyes had failed to mastermind a single victory.
Everton, then, did not just have the leaders to overcome, but a psychological hurdle, too. So when Chelsea took the lead via the kind of route-one tactics that Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, would claim support his flawed theory that Ancelotti’s team are little more than “efficient”, the Everton supporters could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
It really was a dreadful goal to concede, one bearing all the hallmarks of a Bolton Wanderers special.
Petr Cech hoofed the ball upfield. For some strange reason, Tim Cahill was tasked with marking Drogba, but as good as the Australia player might be in the air, he was beaten by the sheer size and bulk of his opponent, who flicked the ball on with a backwards header.
The danger should still have been snuffed out, but with the defence out of position, Malouda was allowed to get the better of Phil Neville and drill his shot across goal and into the bottom corner.
How would Everton react? Superbly, as it happened. They had been unfortunate to fall behind, but rather than let that momentary lapse of concentration haunt them, they regrouped and were rewarded with an equaliser that once again exposed Chelsea’s Achilles’ heel, not to mention Terry’s troubled state of mind.
Chelsea had been undone from set-pieces during the 3-3 draw against Everton at Stamford Bridge in December, but they had obviously learnt nothing from that experience. Landon Donovan’s beautifully flighted corner beat the first man by a matter of inches, allowing Saha to steal ahead of Terry to power home a header.
It was the 21st goal conceded by Chelsea in the league this season, 16 of which have come from dead-ball situations, and if they are to surrender the title, it will more than likely be a consequence of the profound difficulties they have defending set-pieces.
For such a physically imposing team, it is a puzzling defect, but one that Everton, who afforded Mikel Artera his first start for almost 12 months, were thankful for.
Everton should have been 2-1 in front on the stroke of half-time when they were awarded a clear penalty after Ricardo Carvalho tripped Donovan. Saha’s spot-kick, though, was placed too close to Cech and a golden opportunity went begging.
How the France player would atone. Sylvain Distin’s long pass forward should have been easy pickings for Terry but, no doubt worried about where Saha might appear from, the Chelsea defender completely misjudged the flight of the ball. There was still plenty to do but, taking the ball neatly on his chest, Saha smacked a volley beyond Cech for his fourteenth goal of the season.
Chelsea rallied but Everton, tenacious throughout, were not to be denied. Terry’s lot just gets worse.

Everton (4-4-1-1): T Howard — P Neville, J Heitinga, S Distin, L Baines — L Donovan, M Arteta (sub: J Rodwell, 74min), L Osman, D Bilyaletdinov (sub: D Gosling, 86) — T Cahill — L Saha (sub: P Senderos, 90). Substitutes not used: C Nash, J Vaughan, Yakubu Ayegbeni, S Coleman. Booked: Donovan.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech — B Ivanovic, R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole (sub: M Ballack, 57) — J O Mikel (sub: D Sturridge, 76) — F Lampard, Y Zhirkov, F Malouda — N Anelka (sub: S Kalou, 67), D Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilário, P Ferreira, N Matic, J Bruma. Booked: Mikel, Malouda.
Referee: A Wiley.

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Independent:

Chelsea fail to counter Saha’s strength as striker runs riot
Everton 2 Chelsea 1
By Ian Herbert

Louis Saha scored twice as Chelsea had their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to one point.
As the tidal flood of abuse against him gave way to intermittent waves, the best crack Merseyside could dredge up for John Terry last night was "same old Terry, always cheating."
By the end of the night that is precisely what he was reduced to – desperately blocking Louis Saha from racing into a counter attack which would have sealed his misery and Chelsea's. Not for the first time in the past two weeks, it was a French connection which proved his ruination.
Chelsea always knew they had something to fear in Saha, a player who now has two more goals against Chelsea to go with the fastest strike in an FA Cup final last summer and the finish which ruined Carlo Ancelotti's 100 per cent home record in December – a game in which his contribution was immense. But rarely in the course of his Chelsea career has Terry been pulled this way and that quite like this.
The winning goal was only a part of it – Terry misjudging the flight of Sylvain Distin's left-footed strike out of defence which sailed over his head. One neat piece of chest control later the Frenchman was crashing a swerving shot just beyond Cech's right hand. There was also the ghostly omen of all this, a mirror image first-half miscalculation which set Saha free in the box and required Ricardo Carvalho to tidy up. And then the vacant air which allowed Saha to step up ahead of him and calmly head home Landon Donovan's first half corner. By the end of the night Terry wore the same red face you feel has accompanied him through some of his recent private reflections, only this time it was the one pinched by the bitter cold and the sheer, relentless effort of chasing shadows.
In fairness, he was only part of Chelsea's struggles. The side really do not care much for North-west England – their season's two league defeats have occurred here – and the same malaise which affected them at Wigan and Manchester City contributed to the sense that they really are fallible outside of west London. Ancelotti's side have won only once away from home since November in the league but this failure was the most curious of all, considering the smooth sublimity of the first 20 minutes in which they looked on a different level. The 33rd minute goal was one of basic ingredients; a long punt from Petr Cech which Drogba escaped Mike Arteta to nod on for Florent Malouda who raced ahead of Phil Neville to finish impressively and left footed to Tim Howard's left. But the general impression Chelsea offered was of a side capable of the neat and "positive philosophy" in their football which Arsène Wenger has suggested is Arsenal's preserve.
Predictability was the attribute Michael Ballack found in Arsenal last Sunday, much to Wenger's indignation, but it is a pejorative term equally appropriate for Chelsea's record at set pieces and Saha's first goal bore that out. As the goal punctured Chelsea, so it inflated Everton. Or as Moyes so memorably put it later: "When we got to one-each everybody in the ground grew."
The analysis applied most to Donovan. With his side level, he immediately clipped in a ball which Saha might have buried had not his heavy first touch allowed Cech to save with his left foot. Carvalho's own left foot was less trusty as the Californian took a Tim Cahill pass and cut inside him seconds later, inviting the faintest clip. Saha's left footed penalty was at a comfortable height for Cech.
Moyes admitted later that there was a slighted haunted air on the Everton bench as they mused on what the opportunity the might have spurned but his analysis of that late first half period was accurate, too. "We smothered them."
Chelsea's haunted look was never to leave them in the face of Everton's invention after the interval. Cech touched over the bar a ball Diniyar Bilyaletdinov floated from the left and the sense of siege intensified when Terry appeared to have handled a ball Donovan lifted towards the Chelsea box on the counter attack. It actually hit the defender's face. Desperate for more momentum, Ancelotti threw on Ballack, rather than a defender, when Cole injured his ankle in a challenge with Donovan and limped off.
Chelsea responded immediately after the decisive second goal came – Lampard's corner reached Drogba who thumped a header against the bar – but Terry placed the rebound high and wide, which seemed to be a metaphor for his night. The welcome Everton had for him here included a prescient advert in the match programme for local sexual health clinics ("love is infectious") which many fans chuckled over last night. There was no fun for Terry. He needs that weekend off and has another good reason to put France from his mind.

Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Donovan, Arteta (Rodwell, 74), Osman, Bilyaletdinov (Gosling, 86); Cahill; Saha (Senderos, 90). Substitutes not used: Nash (gk), Vaughan, Yakubu, Coleman
Chelsea (4-1-3-2) Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole (Ballack, 57); Mikel; Lampard, Malouda, Zhirkov; Anelka (Kalou, 67), Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario, Ferreira, Sturridge, Matic, Bruma

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire)
Booked: Everton Donovan; Chelsea Mikel, Malouda.
Man of the match: Donovan.
Attendance: 36,411.

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Guardian:

Chelsea's John Terry takes a break after Louis Saha stuns Chelsea
Everton 2 Saha 33, Saha 75 Chelsea 1 Malouda 17
Andy Hunter at Goodison Park

That awkward date with the doghouse in Dubai suddenly seems as timely for Chelsea as for John Terry and his marriage. The defender had responded to the personal crisis that cost him the England captaincy as his club and the entire football world knew he would – with an impenetrable, defiant air. But the first cracks appeared at Goodison Park last night as two Terry mistakes hindered Chelsea's march at the Premier League summit. Typically, his nemesis proved to be French.
Louis Saha capitalised on both errors to give Everton their first victory over Chelsea in almost 10 years and do his old club, Manchester United, a huge favour in the title race. A fourth away defeat of the season for Carlo Ancelotti's team owed much to their inability to defend set pieces, Saha transforming the game when he escaped Terry at Landon Donovan's corner to equalise, but their captain's all-round display gave cause for concern. Only Terry will know whether weeks at the centre of scandal have taken a toll on his professional life, but it must disturb Ancelotti that the first questions can now be legitimately asked.
Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant manager, was first to rebuke the suggestion that Terry's mind was elsewhere. "Not at all," insisted Wilkins. "You have to give Louis Saha credit, he is a tough opponent. John has been absolutely outstanding for us all season and if it was a mistake by John then I'm sure it is the slightest of blips." But he confirmed that Terry will be heading to Dubai today to visit his wife, Toni, adding: "John won't play this weekend [against Cardiff in the FA Cup]. Carlo has given him time off for a break and he'll be back for the Wolves game [a week on Saturday]. They had a little chat and decided that would be the best for all concerned."
All today's stories on our breaking news feedHaving been culpable, in Wilkins's words, for the "slight lack of concentration" that enabled Saha to cancel out Florent Malouda's early goal for Chelsea, Terry made a graver error for the Everton winner 15 minutes from time. A long ball out of defence from Sylvain Distin should have been routine to a defender of Terry's standing but he misread the flight completely, the French striker controlled the ball beautifully, and suddenly Petr Cech was watching a fine left-footed shot sail past him. David Moyes, roundly criticised for Everton's defeat at Liverpool on ­Saturday and his argument that his team played well, had instant vindication. This was his first victory as Everton manager over Chelsea, the side who destroyed his dreams of lifting the FA Cup last season.
"I'd rather have won the FA Cup final if I had my pick," said Moyes, who before kick-off had challenged Saha to mark his new two-year contract at Everton by ­rediscovering his goalscoring form and making life difficult for Terry. The former United player's response was emphatic, although he should really have departed with the match ball having also missed a 44th-minute penalty to accompany his brace.
With the exception of a dominant opening, in which the hangover from the Merseyside derby defeat appeared to be resting heavily on Everton players and the Goodison crowd, Chelsea were far from the swaggering, superior side that many believe will break United's hold on the league title this season. Everton were missing key midfielders in Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini as a result of the bruising encounter at Anfield and, with Mikel Arteta making his first start for a year alongside Leon Osman, the visitors initially controlled the midfield with ease.
Malouda shot low under Tim Howard after only 17 minutes when Tim Cahill and Phil Neville were caught in two minds over how to deal with Didier Drogba in the air. In the event neither challenged the Chelsea centre-forward, and he flicked a header through a static Everton defence for the French midfielder to sprint clear and finish comfortably.
Everton's reaction changed the entire mood and flow of the contest. After Saha had glanced Donovan's corner beyond Cech the USA captain was tripped inside the area on the stroke of half-time, but the striker's spot-kick was at a comfortable height for the Chelsea goalkeeper who parried to his left.
Ancelotti made several tactical changes after the interval but could not stem a vibrant Everton display, in which Saha and Donovan remained to the fore. "That was Landon's best game for us," said Moyes. "But I don't think we'll be able to keep him when his three-month loan expires unfortunately." Saha's second gave Everton a deserved lead and ultimately, despite a late scare when Drogba headed against the crossbar, a merited and restorative victory. "I just thought we lacked a bit of intensity," said Wilkins, whose side also lost Ashley Cole to an ankle injury. "But full credit to Everton. They just about deserved to nick it."


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Mail:

Everton 2 Chelsea 1: Terry pays the price as Saha pounces to net Goodison winner
By John Edwards

He had plenty of advance warning, but John Terry was still powerless to prevent Louis Saha adding to his woes and putting a dent in Chelsea's Barclays Premier League title hopes at Goodison Park last night.The troubled Chelsea skipper has been in turmoil in recent weeks, following a series of indiscretions that cost him the England captaincy, and David Moyes advised him against expecting any upturn in fortunes as he prepared to lock horns with in-form former Manchester United striker Saha.Everton's astute manager has proved himself a sound judge on many a previous occasion, and his reputation for calling the shots was duly reinforced as Saha intensified Terry's discomfort by equalising Florent Malouda's early opener and firing a dramatic winner in the 75th minute.
As he reflects on a calamitous evening for himself and his side, Terry may just conclude that, as in his private life, his latest misery was entirely self-inflicted.A rare lapse of concentration cost him dearly for Saha's first goal and an equally unusual positional error carried an even greater price as he allowed Everton's lethal front- runner to advance unchallenged for his 14th goal of the season.Moyes had based his calculations on Saha finally breaking free of any uncertainty over his future by signing a new two-year contract worth ?55,000 a week. It enabled him to concentrate on what he does best, and Terry will be the latest to testify that few in the Premier League do it better.
There had been little sign of the defensive mayhem to come for Chelsea as they started with their customary swagger in midfield, piecing together slick passing moves and leaving Everton chasing shadows.Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic both squandered openings, after impressive build-ups, but there could be no faulting Malouda's accuracy when he made the most of a chance set up by a route one approach in the 17th minute.Moyes may just have questioned the standard of defending, though, as Didier Drogba was allowed a free header from Petr Cech's clearance and Malouda held off a challenge from Phil Neville to drill a crisp low shot beyond Tim Howard.That should have been the cue for Chelsea taking complete control, particularly as they had never lost with Malouda on the scoresheet, but Everton had other ideas as they hit back with a 33rd-minute leveller that highlighted another, far more worrying, statistic about Carlo Ancelotti's side.As Landon Donovan swung over a corner from the right, Saha peeled away from Terry and planted a near-post header past Cech to leave Chelsea mulling over the stark reality that 16 of 21 set-pieces conceded in the league this season have led to goals.
If that came as a jolt, the alarm bells started sounding at the end of the half, as Saha had a point-blank shot blocked by Cech in the 44th minute and Ricardo Carvalho up-ended the lively Donovan just inside the area for the clearest of penalties.Saha struck his kick well enough, but Cech read his intentions and took off to his left to palm it to safety and earn the gratitude of his team-mates, Carvalho in particular.
Saha's demeanour as he trudged off seconds later, still reliving the miss and shaking his head in dismay, suggested it might have sapped his confidence. Appearances can be deceptive, however, as Chelsea were to discover in the 75th minute, as Terry erred once more and Saha made the most of his good fortune yet again.All the know-how and experience that has made Terry one of England's most dependable defenders suddenly deserted him, as he jumped under a long through-ball from Sylvain Distin and looked on aghast at the sight of Saha chesting it down and volleying unerringly past Cech.Drogba headed a late corner against the bar in a spirited Chelsea rally, but the way the ensuing scramble panned out said everything about Chelsea's malaise on the night. The ball eventually fell to Terry on the edge of the area, but he was left facing merciless jeers from all sides after leaning back and sending a side-foot finish high and wide into the Gwladys Street stands.
A delighted Moyes said: 'Saha should have scored four, not two. I have given him a slight pat on the back but not a proper one! We played really well. To go a goal behind and come back — I don’t know too many teams who do that against Chelsea.’
While Moyes celebrated his first ever victory over Chelsea, Ancelotti’s assistant RayWilkins, rallied round Terry, saying: ‘I don’t agree that his head wasn’t right. That wasn’t the case at all. he got caught under the ball for the second goal, but he has been absolutely outstanding for us all season.
‘It was just the slightest of blips, but you have to give Saha some credit for taking thechance so well.
‘Carlo has given John time off this weekend, but he will be back for the Wolves game.
Ashley Cole has picked up quite a nasty knock on the ankle, but we are going to have to assess it back at the training ground.’

MATCH FACTS
EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Neville 7,Heitinga 6, Distin 6, Baines 7; Donovan 8, Arteta 6 (Rodwell 74min), Osman 6,Bilyaletdinov 5 (Gosling 86); Cahill 6;Saha 7 (Senderos 90).Booked: Donovan.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 6; Ivanovic 7,Terry 7, Carvalho 6, A Cole 6 (Ballack 56, 6); Mikel 7, Lampard 7, Zhirkov 6; Anelka(Kalou 66, 6), Drogba 7, Malouda 6.Booked: Mikel.
Man of the match: Landon Donovan.
Referee: Alan Wiley.

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Telegraph:
Everton 2 Chelsea 1
By Mark Ogden

John Terry is discovering the hard way that Parisiens can be nothing but trouble.
First the revelations of his alleged affair with the French underwear model Vanessa Perroncel and now his inability to get quite so close to Louis Saha, the Everton forward whose two goals in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Goodison Park barely tell the story of his comprehensive dominance of the former England captain.
Prior to his encounter with Saha, Terry had seemingly gained strength from the distraction of being the salacious focus of a nation.
That apparent problem was brushed aside, even though it cost him the England captaincy, yet Terry could not tough it out against Saha and the frailties exposed by the former Manchester United forward will concern Capello more than Terry’s off-field issues.
Saha, who had a penalty saved by Petr Cech, escaped Terry for both goals in a 90 minute centre-forward master-class that inflicted Chelsea’s first defeat since December and reduced their lead over United to just one point.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will have already plotted the title run-in from his Carrington office and this fixture would have been circled in red, just as Carlo Ancelotti will view United’s visit here in nine days’ time as a potential roadblock for their championship ambitions.
Catch Everton on the wrong day and they can inflict damage, so Ancelotti will have expected a defiant Evertonian response to Saturday’s defeat against ten-man Liverpool at Anfield.
And so it proved. David Moyes may have been without the suspended Steven Pienaar and injured Marouane Fellaini in midfield, but their grit and tenacity was replaced by the greater creativity of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Mikel Arteta, starting his first game since returning from a cruciate ligament injury.
As a result, Everton were able to claw their way back into the game in the first-half after Florent Malouda’s eighth goal of the season had put Chelsea ahead on 17 minutes.
Arteta has his qualities, but out-muscling Didier Drogba to clear a long punt forward from Cech isn’t one of them.
Drogba’s flick-on from Cech’s clearance enabled Malouda to break clear of Phil Neville before guiding a left-foot shot past goalkeeper Tim Howard from 15 yards.
Chelsea marginally deserved their lead, but Everton responded positively and the visitors began to lose the midfield battle.
Arteta and Leon Osman dominated the central areas, while Landon Donovan and Bilyaletdinov stretched the game and Chelsea’s back four. Both Chelsea full-backs, Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole, quickly had the white chalk of the touchline on their boots.
Bilyaletdinov almost created an equaliser on 28 minutes when his cross from the left resulted in Leighton Baines volleying straight at Cech from 12 yards.
But the Everton leveller came five minutes later when Donovan’s corner was emphatically headed in by Saha.
Terry, spared the booing by opposing fans that has accompanied him in recent outings, was caught out by Saha, who lost him at the near post to win the header without the England centre-half in sight. Saha had hauled Everton level, but he proceeded to waste two golden chances to put Moyes’s team ahead before the interval.
Having aimed a volley from Donovan’s cross straight at Cech, Saha then saw Cech save his 44th minute penalty, which had been awarded by referee Alan Wiley as a result of Ricardo Carvalho’s foul on Donovan.
Saha, who last week committed his future to Everton for another two years, remained a constant irritant for Terry. This was the Saha that United paid £12m for in 2004, an unplayable bully whose pace and touch tied Terry in knots.
All that was missing was the finishing touch and, just as in the closing stages of the first-half, Saha’s radar was off-beam when he escaped Terry again before volleying wide on 50 minutes.
Chelsea regained their composure after that miss, but they were rocked back again when Cole limped out of the game following a robust challenge by Donovan, who had spent almost an hour tormenting the England full-back. Terry had no such escape route to the dressing-room, however, and Saha continued to expose him.
And the killer blow came on 75 minutes when, after beating Terry to Sylvain Distin’s long clearance, he lashed an unstoppable volley past Cech. Terry had been caught out once more. It is becoming a theme.

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