Everton 2-1

Guardian:

Demba Ba transfer talks outshine Frank Lampard's double for Chelsea
James Riach at Goodison Park

Chelsea have taken steps to rectify their lack of strikers by opening talks with Demba Ba's representatives. The Newcastle United striker has a £7.5m release clause in his contract that can be triggered once the January transfer window is open.
Chelsea have been desperately short of back-up for Fernando Torres this season and have sold their reserve striker Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool for around £12m with his move due in the new year. Signing Ba would also make sense in the short term as it would allow Chelsea to pursue their principal target Radamel Falcao next summer, his club Atlético Madrid being unwilling to sell the prolific forward until the season has ended.
The Blues' interim manager, Rafa Benítez, was coy when pressed on the issue after his side had come from a goal behind to beat Everton at Goodison Park. "We do not talk about our business in public," he said, adding of the directors: "My job is to prepare the team for games and they will let me know. He plays for another team so I do not like to talk about it."
Ba has scored 29 goals in 51 appearances in the league for Newcastle and has proved to be a steal since signing from West Ham United on a free in June 2011. The 27-year-old Senegalese has been diagnosed with a long-standing knee condition which has put other suitors off in the past.
He fits the bill for Chelsea in that he is not only prolific but also relatively cheap and has proved that he can cut it in the Premier League. "Demba is out of my hands, there is nothing I can do about it so what will be will be," Newcastle's manager, Alan Pardew, said at the weekend.
Torres again demonstrated his prodigious workrate against Everton but was unable to find the net. Instead Chelsea were once again reliant on their old stager Frank Lampard who, ironically, is free to sign terms with foreign clubs in the new year, so it was apt that his second and winning goal was met by a chorus of "sign him up" by Chelsea's fans at Goodison Park.
Lampard's knack of appearing in the right place at the right time has brought Chelsea many victories and helped to win league titles, not to mention European glory in the past 11 years. Twice he showed that natural instinct during a game in which his side were second best to Everton, yet the midfielder has yet to be offered a contract extension.
Benítez expects Lampard to remain at Stamford Bridge until at least the end of the season. "Frank is under contract, he's fully committed and he's a great player," he said. "My job is to keep him fit and, if he scores in every game, I will be really pleased. Lampard is a great player, he is a good professional, he is doing well for us. I will try to bring the best from him until the end of the season and you never know."
Asked what the new year might bring, Lampard said: "I just hope for me personally playing in a winning team. I will keep trying to give my best as I've always done and will continue to do. I know there's a lot of speculation but for me the enjoyable bit is the 90 minutes."
Everton's profligacy has haunted them this season and, despite taking an early lead through Steven Pienaar, Lampard's header three minutes before half-time and a close-range finish after 72 minutes secured a fourth successive victory for Benítez on his return to Merseyside.
Everton dominated the opening 30 minutes and should have killed off the game, Pienaar firing the ball past Petr Cech in the second minute. Eden Hazard, woefully off the pace in the first half, squandered possession in midfield and Phil Jagielka, playing at full-back, galloped down the right wing before delivering a deep cross. Victor Anichebe's header rebounded off the far post but the ball fell to Pienaar who shot home from around the penalty spot.
Quite how they failed to go further ahead was a mystery solved mostly by Cech, who made a number of impressive saves, and bad luck. On three occasions Everton hit the woodwork.
"We're not disappointed with how we played, we played really well, we've run the European champions really close but we just didn't have enough in the end," said Moyes, who apologised for berating the referee, Howard Webb, after the final whistle. "I was wrong to do so and I apologised to him but I thought there was a free-kick on Leon Osman in the 92nd minute on the edge of the box."
Chelsea equalised when Torres slid the ball to Ramires and the Brazilian lifted a pinpoint cross into the penalty area where Lampard headed into the bottom corner.
Ross Turnbull was introduced for Cech at half-time because of a thigh injury and with 20 minutes remaining Nikica Jelavic's header cannoned off the crossbar, the striker having earlier hit the post. Two minutes later Chelsea were in front. Torres and Ramires combined before Juan Mata's shot was stopped by Tim Howard, only for Lampard to turn home the rebound.
"I thought it was a great win for us," Benítez said. "All the team showed character, commitment, passion and quality against a good team. We knew that they could be tough but I had confidence in my players and you could see in the second half that we were controlling." Benítez and Moyes warmly shook hands before the game, despite the Spaniard labelling Everton a "small club" when manager of Liverpool in 2007.

Man of the match Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

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Telegraph:

Everton 1 Chelsea 2:
by Henry Winter

Frank Lampard continues to fight magnificently against the fading of his Chelsea light, continues to make a mockery of the board’s refusal to offer him a new deal.
With dynamism on the field and dignity off it, Lampard is going out in style. But for him, the European champions would have lost this game to a well-organised, fired-up Everton side.
Chelsea’s captain rescued his team on Sunday, dragging them to victory from a goal down, so maintaining the momentum under Rafael Benítez.
He scored twice, so moving within a goal of Kerry Dixon’s 193 in the club’s all-time scoring list with only Bobby Tambling ahead on 202.
If he stays until the summer, Lampard could well be leaving Stamford Bridge as the club’s most prolific goalscorer. Lampard is making Chelsea history as Chelsea prepare to make him history.
After each of the midfielder’s goals, and particularly at the final whistle, Chelsea fans chanted “Sign him up”, an edge of frustration detectable in their voices.
Lampard walked over at the end, acknowledging their backing, almost seeming to linger in the glow of their love. They will always have Munich, always have the memories of great moments, but all are aware that the board will not commit to players in their mid-30s.
The issue of age stirs a strange debate in football as if a body’s susceptibility to sport’s demands can be measured only by the number of years.
It is not a simple science, not something that can be quantified in Moneyball terms. It is about dedication to a professional lifestyle, about avoiding injury.
Roman Abramovich, Bruce Buck, Ron Gourlay and Michael Emenalo are preparing to take a gamble on the knees of the 27-year-old Demba Ba, while dispensing with the substantial services of the man who lasted two hours of the Champions League final in May, who kept Chelsea calm in the teeth of an Everton storm here.
Two of the most impressive contributors to an absorbing game at Goodison were Lampard, 34, and the 35-year-old Sylvain Distin. The
Everton centre-half blotted out Fernando Torres with a mix of strength, determination and anticipation.
Distin was desperately unfortunate to finish the day contemplating the end of Everton’s unbeaten home record in the League this season.
An hour after the final whistle, Distin could be found outside Goodison, perching a fan on a barrier so the boy’s father could take a better picture. Distin then walked along a row of supporters, shaking hands and chatting away. Like Lampard, Distin is a fine ambassador for his club.
Another of the thirtysomething brigade, Steven Pienaar, was also hugely influential. As the strains of Z Cars faded away and Goodison shook with expectancy, Everton tore into Chelsea, seizing the lead through the 30-year-old Pienaar after 63 seconds.
Chelsea were culpable, particularly Eden Hazard. The Belgian gave the ball away, the mistake proving doubly damaging as Ashley Cole, who had made a forward dart, was caught out of position.
Phil Jagielka sprinted down the right, running into space vacated by Cole, before lifting over a cross. Victor Anichebe climbed above, probably on, César Azpilicueta, powering a header against the post. As the ball rebounded clear, Pienaar was sharpest, drilling it past Petr Cech.
Chelsea were rattled. David Moyes’ clever deployment of Pienaar in a central role troubled the visitors. Benítez had seemed to expect the South African to be working the left, dovetailing with Leighton Baines, and had therefore fielded the energetic Ramires there.
Yet Moyes started Anichebe on the left, almost in a 4-3-3 formation with Steven Naismith to the right of Jelavic. Pienaar was more central, looking to link with Nikica Jelavic while also quick to press David Luiz and Lampard when Chelsea’s midfielders had possession.
For 25 minutes Everton were totally dominant, proving quicker to the ball and hungrier, simply working harder than the champions of Europe.
When Gary Cahill fouled Pienaar, Jelavic swept a free-kick on to Cech’s right-hand upright. When Jagielka delivered another cross, Leon Osman forced Cech into an exceptional save.
Yet there is such class in these Chelsea ranks. Ramires went striding through the middle, eventually allowing Juan Mata to test Tim Howard.
Chelsea were building, looking for hope from Ramires, Mata and Lampard, but they kept running into the powerful frame of Distin for 40 minutes.
Such was the quality beginning to flicker from the feet of the visitors that Everton really needed to take their chances. Jelavic nearly scored after 35 minutes, having been brilliantly released by Pienaar, but Cech saved superbly. Big moment.
Six minutes later, Chelsea equalised, following Torres’ one moment of class in the first half (barring two clearing headers).
Turning Baines, Torres rolled the ball down the inside-right channel for Ramires. The Brazilian crossed for Lampard to do what he does so well, timing his run to score, this time with a strong header past Howard.
Chelsea lost an important thirtysomething, Cech, to a muscle injury at the break, bringing Ross Turnbull into goal.
The Englishman saved well from Osman after 67 minutes and was then relieved to see Jelavic’s header hit the bar following a gem of a cross from Baines, who certainly shaded the battle of the No3s with Cole.
Another big moment. Moments later, Chelsea were ahead. Again, they were indebted to Lampard. Torres had wasted one chance, and then been denied by Howard, so again it was left to Lampard to find the net. When Howard saved from Mata,
Lampard was in the right place at the right time to pounce. It was no accident; Lampard has been doing it for years. Sadly, those Chelsea years are soon to end and nobody at the Bridge outside the boardroom can really understand why.


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Independent:

Ian Herbert

Of course, it didn’t feel like a homecoming – this being a place where feelings about Rafael Benitez will never soften.
But the Chelsea manager is too concerned about the football details to care about sentiment, and yesterday’s were significant. This was the most important of his run of wins on domestic soil, which is now extended to six; the first against challenging opposition and the first requiring an inner resilience to see the team through.
Benitez talked last night of a spirit burnished during the club’s trip to Japan, and the players certainly look as if they were with him – Frank Lampard above all. “Sign him on,” sang the Chelsea supporters, who brandished a banner pleading “Dear Abramovich. Don’t let him go,” although evidence that the decision is not the interim manager’s to make came in the way that Benitez ducked the question of a new contract last night. For one day, though, this was a Chelsea  story about the here and now; a win which takes his side within four points of Manchester City with a game in hand and which rendered talk of a two-horse race obsolete, barely before the stable door had closed on it.
Benitez agreed that it probably was the most significant result of his tenure – the first on Goodison soil since Arsenal won here in March and secured in the teeth of an adversity which Chelsea didn’t encounter when pushing Sunderland, Aston Villa and Norwich City aside.
Lampard was a deeply significant part of it. In his own characteristic fashion, Benitez curiously chose to discuss the tactical job he had given Ramires, to suppress Leighton Baines, rather than lavish praise on the 34-year-old. His goals certainly owed much to defensive failings which twice allowed him to go unmarked in the six- yard box. But Lampard revealed that knack of turning up at the right time – heading in Ramires’ cross and then stabbing in from close range, half an hour later. He was also the one who displayed the air of calm required to drag the side back into the game. Moyes was right to say that his team, who hit the woodwork three times, deserved a point. But he has also said consistently that the size of his squad could be the factor which denies them another shot at the Champions League, and this was an afternoon which demonstrated why. With Seamus Coleman, Phil Neville and Darron Gibson missing, he lacked the options to force the game back into his side’s favour.
For Benitez, there was a demonstration of why yesterday’s discussions with Demba Ba’s representatives are important. There is a change in Fernando Torres, for sure. His face has lost that pinched look of desolation. He wore Goodison mud on his back, rather than the world on his shoulders. But Sylvain Distin controlled him in a way that did not support the notion of Torres delivering a mountain of goals to take Chelsea back into the ascendancy. His contributions were fleeting: a powerful shot from the edge of the box and a neat backheel to Juan Mata, though he crept offside before taking the ball back .
The performances which lingered in the mind belonged to Everton. That infamous Benitez comment about them being a “little team” was an allusion to their lack of ambition – in the 2007 Anfield Merseyside derby – though that was not an accusation that could be levelled at them as they hurled themselves into the game. Their high-tempo football in the first 20 minutes was as irresistible as Chelsea’s was wasteful and they only needed a minute and three seconds to take the lead. Eden Hazard’s sloppy ball to Ashley Cole was collected by Pienaar, who sent Phil Jagielka away down the right flank to deliver the excellent ball which Victor Anichebe headed against Petr Cech’s right post. Pienaar finished what he had started, seizing the rebound to drive the ball home. Pienaar was the fulcrum –working up and down the pitch, backheeling the ball which Jagielka crossed for Leon Osman to force a sharp low save from Cech, then spinning off David Luiz and arcing a ball out left for Jelavic to fire an inch wide.
It was Juan Mata who finally began to build something from this early wreckage, though it was hard on Everton that they should have been dragged back to level terms just before the interval. A defence which was gradually being tested failed badly when Ramires’ cross in between Johnny Heitinga and Jagielka left Lampard unmarked to head home
Cech’s withdrawal at half time with an injury to the thigh/groin area offered Everton a renewed sense of hope, which soared when Ross Turnbull, the replacement, pushed away Osman’s shot after a one-two with Victor Anichebe, and Jelavic got in ahead of Gary Cahill to divert a Baines cross on to the bar.  But Lampard pounced again after a Mata shot rebounded off Howard’s chest to his feet and, although Everton pressed to the end, Jelavic could not react rapidly enough at the death to a Baines cross.
Moyes was reluctant to credit Benitez with anything:  “I don’t think Chelsea are just finding their resilience now. But something has changed.”


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Times:

John Aizelwood

Everton 1 Chelsea 2: Lampard makes his point
Midfielder's double strike sees Chelsea move into third place but he admits that he doesn't know if he will be staying at club
IT WASN'T especially pretty, but Chelsea’s foraged victory over Everton hoisted the European Champions into third place in the Premier League, lowered Everton’s colours at home for the first time since March and showed they do grit as effectively as they swashbuckle.

Although not their heartbeat these days, Frank Lampard’s predatorial instincts remain undimmed and his pair of poacher’s goals, overturned Everton’s early lead. Allowed to sign a pre-contract deal with a foreign club the moment the January transfer window opens, Lampard’s future still seems to lie away from West London, but even at the age of 34, Chelsea’s loss will be someone else’s gain.
 Asked if he knew what 2013 would hold, Lampard said: “Nope, I just hope for me personally playing in a winning team. I will keep trying to give my best as I’ve always done when here and will continue to do so.
 “I know there’s a lot of speculation and talk, but for me the enjoyable bit is the 90 minutes.”
 Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez refused to discuss Lampard’s contractual situation or the possibility of Demba Ba arriving from Newcastle United and would only say: “This was a great win for us. We showed character, commitment, passion and quality against a good team. Even when we were making mistakes at the beginning, I always had confidence in my players.”


Everton were left to rue the game’s opening third. They dominated it absolutely, yet all they had to show for it was Steven Pienaar’s second-minute strike. Even so, they need not be too downhearted, for all that they keep punching above their weight, sometimes the paucity of their resources will impede their progress as surely as it should loosen their purse-strings. So, even with Phil Neville and Darron Gibson joining Tony Hibbert, Seamus Coleman and Kevin Mirallas in the sick bay and Marouane Fellaini suspended, that they kicked off in sixth place, with third a possibility, was yet another tribute to David Moyes’s acumen.
 “We tried to play the best we could with what we had,” noted Moyes, who apologised for haranguing referee Howard Webb as the teams trooped off. “And we mostly did it. This was a good performance, but nothing fell for us, nothing came back to us.”
 Beyond John Terry and John Obi Mikel’s indisposition, Chelsea’s worries merely centred on how to juggle their personnel. Benitez restored Lampard, Ramires and Eden Hazard to the starting line-up as they ground their way to victory.
 Benitez’s masterplan looked in severe jeopardy after one minute three seconds when Everton swept ahead. Makeshift right-back Phil Jagielka overlapped and crossed deep. Victor Anichebe rose above a lead-booted Chelsea defence and his towering header set Petr Cech’s post clanging. As the visitors stood mesmerised, Pienaar thrashed in the loose ball.
 For that first 30 minutes, Everton exulted while Chelsea gave every impression of having just been told that doubts have been raised about the existence of Father Christmas. Indeed, the team who had so gleefully thumped eight past Aston Villa the previous week were still moping after nine minutes when Nikica Jelavic curled an imperious free kick onto the same post that had thwarted Anichebe.
 Against a surprisingly hushed backdrop where even the occasional chants of "fat Spanish waiter” directed at Benitez – still unforgiven for referring to Everton as “small” a lifetime ago – were more cheery than vicious, Chelsea struggled; more than they had surely expected and surely more than they ought. At times, it was hard to tell who was prince and who was pauper.

Chelsea are not European champions entirely as a result of fortuitous planet alignment though. They have a spine of steel and prompted by the eager Ramires, their body language altered, they wrested the initiative their way and Everton began to back-pedal. When nobody checked Ramires’s 28th minute run, his shot cannoned off John Heitinga into Juan Mata’s path, but Tim Howard saved smartly; moments later Ashley Cole was inches away from poking Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross-shot over the line.
 These warnings went unheeded and when Fernando Torres craftily found Ramires, the impish Brazilian crossed from the right. Lampard leapt above the statuesque blue shirts around him to nod beyond a similarly static Howard for his first Chelsea away goal since August.
 Cech’s 400th Chelsea game ended at half-time, courtesy of an ankle injury, but although the visitors retained their momentum, they were not at their most fluid: Mata was having one of those afternoons where nothing quite fell for him, Hazard struggled to get into the game at all and when Torres did manage a meaningful shot in the 67th minute, Howard saved splendidly.
 Everton toiled mostly in vain, but Jelavic was unfortunate to see his flying header from Leighton Baines’s cross sail over Ross Turnbull and crash against the bar.
 Just when a draw seemed ready to satisfy everybody’s honour, Chelsea stumbled ahead when, post penalty area ping-pong following a Hazard cross, Howard parried Mata’s drive. Slower of legs these days, but as quick of thought as ever, Lampard popped up to tuck the loose ball home to win it. “Sign him up,” chanted the travelling faithful, more in hope than expectation.

 Everton: Howard, Baines, Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Naismith (Vellios 76min), Hitzlsperger (Barkley 78min), Osman, Pienaar (Oviedo 80min), Anichebe, Jelavic
 Chelsea: Cech (Turnbull h-t), Ivanovic, Cole, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Hazard (Moses 74min), Luiz, Mata (Oscar 85min). Torres

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Mail:

Everton 1 Chelsea 2: Lampard delivers again as Blues recover from early blow to move back into third place
By Ian Ladyman

Frank Lampard has made a habit of being in the right place at the right time over his years at Chelsea.
How peculiar, then, that from the end of this season, he will probably be somewhere else entirely.
Of all the bizarre events that have characterised Chelsea’s recent  history, the apparent decision to jettison one of their most important players next summer is among the more perplexing.
Lampard has made almost 400  Barclays Premier League appearances for Chelsea as the club have established themselves as one of the best in Europe. He has been a  cornerstone of all that has been achieved in the Roman Abramovich years. However, those who suggest that Lampard should be rewarded for his loyalty with a new contract miss the point.
He should be invited to stay at Stamford Bridge not out of  sentiment but simply because he still has something to offer a squad that needs continuity more than most others.
Lampard’s two goals at Goodison Park yesterday were certainly timely. They enabled his team to recover from a second-minute  Everton goal to continue their impressive recent progress and they also provided a reminder of his enduring worth as a footballer. At 34, Lampard may not be as mobile or as dynamic as he once was. Time has inevitably diminished him.
Nevertheless, the England  midfielder’s ability to pass and read and anticipate play remains undimmed.
One senses that Rafael Benitez recognises this and it is a shame that it is someone else other than the club’s interim manager who would appear to be making the decisions about players at Chelsea.
Certainly, yesterday, Benitez will have been grateful.
Chelsea fell behind after only 63 seconds and then had to withstand something of a blitz from David Moyes’s progressive Everton team.
That they did so says much for  the manner in which Benitez  has organised his team and the  confidence that has come from recent victories.
Putting eight goals past a poor Aston Villa team at home is one thing but moving forward to win at Norwich and then here on Merseyside is arguably more impressive.
Are you listening, Roman? A Chelsea fan holding up a special banner at Goodison Park
The first half-hour belonged to Everton. Unfortunately for the home side, it brought them only one goal. Ultimately, that proved critical.
A good goal it was, though, as Everton took advantage of  Eden Hazard’s misplaced early pass to sweep down the right through Phil Jagielka.
The emergency right back’s cross was a good one, and it enabled  Victor Anichebe to climb above Cesar Azpilicueta — with the help of a shove in the back — and head powerfully against the post. If  Chelsea thought the danger had passed, they were wrong. Steven Pienaar was lurking 12 yards from goal and the technique he showed in drilling the ball low past Petr Cech was exemplary.

A goal to the good so quickly, Everton were effervescent and inventive. For a while, Chelsea had no answer. The likes of Lampard, David Luiz and Juan Mata were slow into the game, and they were almost invisible as the hosts swept forward.
Moyes’s players created chances but couldn’t take them. Nikica Jelavic struck a free-kick against the post with Cech stranded before Anichebe headed over after a throw-in was flicked on from the right.
Perhaps the turning point arrived in the 24th minute, though, as another Jagielka cross reached the impressive Leon Osman and Cech somehow managed to smuggle a fierce low drive past his left-hand post.

Had Chelsea fallen two goals behind at this point, there might have been no way back. They really had offered very little at this point.
As it was, though, Cech touched a Jelavic cross-shot wide after a superb Pienaar pass, and Chelsea sprung forward to equalise just before half-time.
The goal hadn’t exactly been  coming, but Chelsea had been improving quietly as time went on.
In the 34th minute, Ashley Cole had been an inch away from diverting a low Azpilicueta cross into the net at the far post, and they equalised when Fernando Torres ran the ball down the right, fed Ramires and watched the Brazilian drop a right-foot cross on the forehead of Lampard eight yards from goal. He simply wasn’t going to miss.
No doubt relieved to be level, Chelsea began the second half the stronger, even though they had lost goalkeeper Cech at half-time to an ankle injury.
With Luiz, Mata and Ramires now looking more like themselves, a Luiz chipped pass deserved better than a poor Torres touch while Chelsea’s centre forward found a much better contact in bringing a superb save from Tim Howard in the 67th minute.
At the other end, Everton’s threat was by now more sporadic, but they remained very much in the game and superb work from Leighton Baines down the left enabled Jelavic to head against the bar as the game hung in the balance with 20  minutes left.
Moyes was later to rue his team’s failure to follow up rebounds.
It was pertinent, then, that  Chelsea won the game just minutes later when a superb move involving Ramires, Torres, Mata and Hazard ended with Lampard bundling the ball in from close range after Howard had saved.
Still there was time for Jelavic to dawdle over a late chance after another Baines cross, and perhaps Everton would have deserved a point.
Chelsea, though, are threatening to become as ruthless on the field as they are off it.
Frank Lampard knows this well.


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Mirror:
Everton 1-2 Chelsea Sign him up! Frank Lampard's brace at Everton fires Chelsea up to third

by Martin Lipton

Frank Lampard is no longer for life at Chelsea, just for this Christmas.
But even if Lampard’s Blues days are drawing to a close, he remains as integral to the core of the club as anybody in the Roman ­Abramovich era.
Rafa Benitez would love to have even a fraction of the goodwill that floods towards Lampard from the Stamford Bridge fans, especially after the double that lifted Chelsea back into the top three.
Their rendition of ‘Sign him up’ after the veteran scored the 192nd goal of his Chelsea career – just one behind second-placed Kerry Dixon in the all-time list – stole the points was a plaintive message to the SW6 hierarchy but will still cut no ice with the men who matter.
Even now, the idea of Chelsea without Lampard next season – there is no chance of him going before the summer – remains a difficult call to fathom.
Yet that is what has been decided – and the midfielder’s refusal to throw in the towel, his determination to make his final year another special one, sums up why he is so revered.
In the continued absence of John Terry, Lampard’s desire helped transform a game that was heading in only one direction – and that was Everton’s.
Chelsea were in danger of being hustled and harried out of the match, alarmingly second best.
But Benitez, too, deserves credit for restoring the fighting spirit that seeped away in the dog days of the Roberto Di Matteo era, with the imminent arrival of Demba Ba proof that Chelsea have not given up the title ghost yet.
In truth, after the opening half hour was dominated by David Moyes’ men, you could have got good odds against the final result.
Everton were terrific, vibrant, dangerous and, rightly ahead, although Moyes was left to reflect ruefully on the failure to build on their second-minute advantage.
The goal, though, was quality. Steven Pienaar latched on to Eden Hazard’s error and played a glorious pass for the overlapping Phil Jagielka. Victor Anichebe appeared to be climbing all over the back of Cesar Azpilicueta, whose exaggerated reaction as the ball pinged back off the post for Pienaar to rifle home probably played its part in Howard Webb allowing the goal.
Chelsea were all over the place. Nikica Jelavic beat Petr Cech with a free-kick that rebounded off the post before the keeper’s terrific stops to foil first Leon Osman and then Jelavic again.
At least by the second Cech stop, Chelsea had belatedly woken up after that initial chasing, when Ramires and Hazard were ­ineffectual, David Luiz off his game and Ashley Cole exposed.
But slowly Chelsea came back into the game. Tim Howard denied Juan Mata after a surging run by Ramires, Cole was inches away from converting Azpilicueta’s cross before Lampard struck for the first time.
The England midfielder does not score too many headers but when Everton left him unmarked eight yards out from Ramires’ ­right-wing cross he steered into the bottom corner.

The momentum was suddenly with Chelsea, although the loss of Cech at the break to a thigh injury might have swung it back to the home team.
Yet Everton, aside from an Osman shot saved to his left, did not test Ross Turnbull enough.
And while Jelavic was dreadfully unlucky again when his header came back off the bar after great work from Leighton Baines – far better on the day than England rival Cole – Chelsea were now asking the big questions.
Only a terrible first touch by Fernando Torres prevented Luiz’s lob from putting the Spaniard in on goal, although the £50million man did then demand a flying leap by Howard.
But the winner did come 18 minutes from time, with Lampard, as so often in his Chelsea career, in the right place at the right time.

Mata picked out Hazard and kept running to get on the end of the loose ball and, while Howard blocked, Lampard shinned into the roof of the net from close range.
Not the prettiest goal he will ever score but one that keeps the juggernaut moving forward and put yet more credit in the Bank of Benitez – at least as far as ­Abramovich and his board, if not the travelling supporters, are concerned.
Manchester United remain well clear. Yet Chelsea have ­rediscovered their mojo, Lampard remains as vigorous as ever.
And with Ba to come in, Benitez getting the response, who knows? Stranger things have happened.
Lamps is taking each day as it comes...
Asked if he knew what the new year would hold, writes MirrorFootball, Lampard told Sky Sports 1: "Nope, I just hope for me personally playing in a winning team.
"I will keep trying to give my best as I've always done when here and will continue to do so.
"I know there's a lot of speculation and talk, but for me the enjoyable bit is the 90 minutes."
Everton took the lead early on through Steven Pienaar and hit the woodwork several times, only to come away with nothing.
Lampard admitted the visitors had found the going tough, but claimed the win was just reward for their resolve.
He added: "It (the effort) was huge, especially after the sloppy start. The lads dug in, we held our own, rode our luck, but I think we made our own luck and I think we deserved to win it for that.
"To be able to contribute, get the goals, is great, but the team performance deserves most credit."
Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez was giving nothing away over Lampard's future.
"I am really pleased with the team, credit to Frank for the goals," the Spaniard said.
"Frank is under contract, doing well, fully committed. My job is to keep him fit."
Asked if he knew anything about reports club officials are due to hold talks with Newcastle striker Demba Ba, he added: "No, because we don't talk about this business, we had a very important game today."
Everton boss David Moyes revealed he had apologised to referee Howard Webb after confronting him after the match.
"I apologised to him because I shouldn't have talked to him as I came off the pitch," he said.
The Scot added: "We gave Chelsea a good run for their money, albeit we're disappointed we didn't take something from the game."


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Sun:

CHELSEA have decided they do not want Frank Lampard any more — but boy do they need him when the going gets tough.
by David Facet

Two more trademark strikes from the Blues’ record Premier League goalscorer advertised his value to the host of clubs who will be beating a path to Chelsea’s door to take Lampard off their hands.
His 72nd-minute winner was scored at the Chelsea fans’ end.
And the way he ran over to them clutching the badge on his chest spoke volumes for his unflinching passion and commitment to the club.
Midfield maestro Lampard, 34, later insisted he will continue to give everything for Chelsea until he is moved on, despite their refusal to offer him a new contract.
No one has ever doubted that. But you have to doubt the sanity of Blues owner Roman Abramovich and his advisors for showing the door to a man who clearly has so much more to offer.
His double strike lifted Chelsea into third place in the Premier League, just four points behind champions Manchester City.
And even though they remain 11 adrift of Manchester United, this was the sort of victory that suggests nobody at Stamford Bridge is going to give up on the title just yet.
Everton were one of only two teams with an unbeaten home record in the top flight along with Stoke, who look like providing Chelsea with their toughest test during a spell of winnable matches over the next few weeks.
If they can also win at the Britannia Stadium, Rafa Benitez’s team could easily pick up enough points to make significant inroads into United’s lead.
But until Lampard popped up with his first goal three minutes before the break, Chelsea were taking an absolute battering off a highly- motivated Everton team.
Their appetite for the battle was clearly fuelled by far more than just the memory of Benitez’s withering description of Everton as a “small club” when he was in charge of affairs across the road at Anfield.
This was also a chance for Everton to put the finishing touch to a best-ever year of Premier League action, to climb above their opponents and to enter 2013 in third place themselves.
That all depended on them securing a fourth successive Goodison Park victory over Chelsea.
And the omens looked good when South African midfielder Steven Pienaar fired the home team ahead after just 63 seconds.
Pienaar, easily the best player on the pitch in the first half, started the move by picking out defender Phil Jagielka with a clever pass down the right flank.
With Toffees skipper Phil Neville out injured, centre-half Jagielka was operating out of position as a full-back.
But he still managed to pick out striker Victor Anichebe with a terrific cross to the far post.
Anichebe’s header crashed back off the woodwork but Pienaar had continued his run and swept home the rebound to send the home supporters delirious.
Blues keeper Petr Cech did not get near Anichebe’s effort or Pienaar’s shot but he produced two world-class saves as Everton threw everything at Chelsea in a pulsating first period.
Cech managed to get down in a heartbeat to push away Leon Osman’s low screamer, before he somehow managed to get a fingertip to a Nikica Jelavic effort that seemed certain to find the far corner.
Croatian striker Jelavic also hit a post with a curling free-kick when Cech was stranded in the middle of his goal — and you sensed it was only a matter of time before the second goal arrived.
But few would have predicted it would be scored by Chelsea, especially with Fernando Torres and Ramires — two of their most ineffective performers — combining to set up the chance.
Torres nudged the ball inside to Ramires and, when the Brazilian clipped it across, there was Lampard completing another of those brilliantly timed runs into the box to head powerfully past Tim Howard.
Apart from one counter-attack that saw Spanish playmaker Juan Mata shoot against Howard’s legs, that was pretty much the first time Chelsea had looked threatening.
It was a different story after the break, with Torres’ first touch letting him down after David Luiz — playing in a central midfield role — neatly lobbed the ball over the advancing defenders.
Torres was also marginally offside as he tried to seize on the rebound from a Mata piledriver — and the Spain striker then forced a tremendous full-length save from Howard.
Everton were not finished, however, especially with Leighton Baines rampaging down the left flank in a bid to prove he is a better form choice for England than another Chelsea misfit, Ashley Cole.
Jelavic rattled the crossbar with a stooping header from a Baines’ cross but that was quickly followed by Lampard’s killer blow.
Once again he was on the spot as Howard beat away a Mata shot — and the old maxim about class being permanent immediately sprang to mind.
Jelavic still had a chance to salvage a point for his team in stoppage time, as Baines whipped in another cross that bamboozled the Chelsea defence.
But the Croat snatched at the chance and he barely made contact as it flew across the face of goal — certainly not enough to deflect it past Ross Turnbull, who took over in goal for the second half with Cech complaining of an ankle injury.
So, once again, Chelsea were indebted to Lampard for three more priceless points.
Are you sure you do not want him to stay, Mr Abramovich?

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

SUN STAR MAN - FRANK LAMPARD (Chelsea)

Everton: Howard 6, Jagielka 6, Heitinga 6, Distin 8, Baines 7, Naismith 5 (Vellios 5), Osman 7, Hitzlsperger 5 (Barkley 5), Pienaar 7 (Oviedo 5), Anichebe 6, Jelavic 7. Subs Not Used: Mucha, Gueye, Duffy, Browning.
Booked: Pienaar, Distin. Goals:Pienaar 2.

Chelsea: Cech 8 (Turnbull 6), Azpilicueta 7, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Cole 6, Ramires 6, Luiz 5, Lampard 9, Mata 7 (Oscar 5), Torres 6, Hazard 5 (Moses 5).Subs Not Used: Ferreira, Marin, Piazon, Ake.
Booked: Cahill, Luiz, Cole.Goals: Lampard 42, 72.
Att: 39,485
Ref: H Webb 6

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Express:

EVERTON 1 - CHELSEA 2: FRANK LAMPARD PENS LONG GOODBYE TO THE BLUES

By Paul Joyce

EVERTON'S resources were threadbare Chelsea’s season gained momentum
WHEN, rather than if, Frank Lampard departs Chelsea in the summer, the tributes and all manner of accolades will pour in.
At Goodison Park, they might prefer to hang out the bunting.
Lampard has spent a career tormenting Everton and, right on cue, conjured two more strikes to make it nine goals in 18 appearances against them and in the process imbue belief that he could yet leave as a title winner.
An 11-point gap to Manchester United is a yawning deficit to overcome, albeit one that will be cut to eight if Chelsea beat Southampton at home in their game in hand.
Yet, the manner in which they survived the storm a ravenous Everton whipped up to become the first side to win there since last March, represented an impressive statement of intent from Rafa Benitez’s side.
The celebrations among the travelling supporters at the final whistle showed the significance of a victory that showed just how far Chelsea have come under the Spaniard’s tenure given how tamely they capitulated under a similar sustained assault from West Ham not too long ago.
Everton may come to regard it as one when their hopes of a top-four place faltered
Yesterday may have owed much to Lampard’s poacher’s instinct, but the visitors also summoned reserves of strength to move into third place having fallen behind after 63 seconds.
If this was the afternoon when Chelsea’s season gained momentum, then Everton may come to regard it as one when their hopes of a top-four place faltered.
That they have carried the baton thus far speaks volumes for David Moyes’ canny management, but his fear injuries and suspensions would take their toll are well-founded and his resources were threadbare here.
For Everton to go down fighting was no surprise. The bravery of their endeavour took its lead from the decision to disband the partnership of Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar on the left in order to station the latter off Nikica Jelavic.
The tactic yielded instant dividends. Pienaar sent Phil Jagielka surging towards the byline and after Victor Anichebe headed his cross against the woodwork, Pienaar smashed home the rebound. It would be harsh to chastise Everton for not making their initial superiority count. Simply the luck all teams require was elusive.
Jelavic curled a free-kick against a post with Petr Cech motionless after eight minutes before the goalkeeper, on his 400th appearance for Chelsea, repelled a fierce Leon Osman shot and made an excellent fingertip save to deny Jelavic.
Cech did not return for the second half, an ankle injury which Chelsea will hope is not too serious seeing Ross Turnbull deputise. But by then parity had already been restored.
It was interesting to witness who in Chelsea’s ranks puffed out their chests and searched for a solution to the conundrum Everton had set.
Eden Hazard might have been expected to relish the prospect of targeting Jagielka, who had been forced to shift across into a right-back role, but remained on the periphery.
Fernando Torres struggled to stretch Everton’s defence and it was Lampard and Juan Mata, with the intelligence and desire to find space between the lines, who changed the momentum of an absorbing affair. When Torres rescued a corner, he fed Ramires and his cross was headed into the bottom corner by Lampard. Benitez, on stepping off Chelsea’s team coach, had heard one Everton fan shout, ‘Welcome to the small club,’ in a reminder of the caustic comment during his time as Liverpool manager which caused uproar on Merseyside.
If size is of any issue to Moyes these days, then it relates only to the depth of his squad.
His side continued to perform and when Jelavic’s header struck the bar in the 70th minute it was the 17th time Everton have hit the woodwork this season. Yet when Moyes looked for back-up the options on his bench revealed six players boasting just 26 Premier League starts between them and a teenager, Tyias Browning, whose CV had to be circulated with the team-sheets because he had been plucked from obscurity.
The winner came when Jagielka, in intercepting Hazard’s downward header, could only divert the ball into the path of Mata and though his shot was saved Lampard bundled home from close range.
It was his 192nd goal for the club and record scorer Bobby Tambling (202) is now in sight.
Evertonians’ ire had been trained on pantomime villain Benitez at the outset, though Lampard showed once again that he knows how best to inflict pain on them.

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Star:

EVERTON 1 - CHELSEA 2: FABULOUS FRANK LAMPARD TWO GOOD TO DITCH

It was a dream start for Everton but Chelsea, despite being on the ropes for long periods, drew level in the 42nd minute

By Kevin Francis

FABULOUS Frank Lampard turned on the style to show Chelsea just what they will be missing when they dump him.
He emerged as the two-goal hero for the club that is apparently not prepared to offer him a new contract.
And Lampard made his views abundantly clear by pointing to the Chelsea badge on his shirt as he celebrated the second of his goals.
His brace gave the European champions a win which took them back into third place in the Premier League and showed that they are still capable of getting into the title mix.
They are now just four points behind second-placedManchester City with a game in hand after a fourth successive league win.
But Everton will feel unlucky after a game in which they hit the woodwork three times and pushed Chelsea all the way.
It was a disappointing result for the Merseysiders but at least they have ended the year with a best haul of 68 points over the last 12 months.
They have only suffered seven league defeats in the year so, despite this reversal, David Moyes and his men can reflect with some degree of pride on just how well 2012 has gone.
Lampard’s double strike earned Chelsea victory from a game in which they had found themselves a goal down after just 63 seconds.
Steven Pienaar started and finished the move which began with a pass out to Phil Jagielka, who had raced down the right.
His cross found Victor Anichebe just inside the six-yard box and a powerful header rapped against a post when a goal looked to be on the cards.
But Everton’s disappointment was short-lived with Pienaar connecting well to rap home the rebound with his right foot.
It was a dream start for Everton but Chelsea, despite being on the ropes for long periods, drew level in the 42nd minute.
A right-wing cross from Ramires was brilliantly headed past Everton keeper Tim Howard by Lampard to cap a spell of fine Chelsea attacking.
It was a just reward for their determin-ation to fight back from that early blow against an adventurous home team.
Lampard then crowned an outstanding personal performance in the 72nd minute after a shot from Juan Mata had been blocked by Howard.
The England midfielder was on hand to force the ball over the line from close range to cap a classic comeback.
Everton had come close to extending their lead in the ninth minute through striker Nikica Jelavic.
The same post that denied Anichebe was also responsible for preventing a cracking free-kick from Jelavic, who couldn’t believe his luck.
Chelsea were a team on the ropes for long periods and half an hour had elapsed before their first realistic goal attempt.
Ramires rounded off a fine run with a shot that hit Everton defender John Heitinga and rolled dangerously in the area.
Mata raced in and fired goalwards, only to see Howard block the effort just a few yards off his line.
A few minutes later, Cesar Azpilicueta’s low cross from the right wing flashed across the goalmouth, where Ashley Colejust failed to make contact in front of an open net.
That effort summed up the steady improvement shown by Chelsea, who shrugged off that early shock by adopting a sleeves-rolled-up approach.
But Everton were in battling mode and they also went close when Pienaar’s perfectly-weighted pass to Jelavic almost produced a goal.
Jelavic fired in a low shot that Chelsea keeper Petr Cech just managed to push round a post for a corner in what was his last important touch of the match.
The Czech did not come out for the second half because of an ankle injury.
He was replaced by 27-year-old Ross Turnbull, who had not figured in a Premier League game this season.
He had a busy time as Everton piled on the pressure in the second half, with Jelavic hitting the bar in yet another close call.
Then, in the third minute of injury time, another chance went begging as Jelavic miscued the ball right in front of goal.
And that was the story of their day – plenty of chances but those near misses cost them dearly.

EVERTON: Howard 7; Jagielka 7, Heitinga 6, Distin 7, Baines 7; Naismith 6 (Vellios 76), Osman 7, Hitzlsperger 6 (Barkley 78), PIENAAR 8 (Oviiedo 80); Anichebe 7, Jelavic 7.
Subs: Mucha, Gueye, Duffy, Browning.

UP NEXT: Newcastle (a), Wednesday, Premier League.
CHELSEA: Cech 5 (Turbull 46, 6); Azpilicueta 7, Cahill 7, Ivanovic 7, Cole 7; RAMIRES 7, Luiz 7; Mata 7 (Oscar 85), LAMPARD 8, Hazard 6 (Moses 73); Torres 5.
Subs: Ferreira, Marin, Plazon, Ake
Referee: Howard Webb 7.

UP NEXT: QPR (h), Wednesday, Premier League.