Everton 2-1

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Chelsea 2-1 Everton: Willy Caballero shows kids it's an old man's game as he brilliantly denies spirited Toffees while Antonio Rudiger and Willian score

By Riath Al-Samarrai for the Daily Mail

For all the bright young things and their expensive elders, this was a tie won by a 36-year-old back-up goalkeeper without a hair on his head and barely a game to his name. What a decision it was to free Willy.
When Wayne Rooney had a volley, it was charged down. When Aaron Lennon went through, he was stopped. Likewise Phil Jagielka and Kevin Mirallas.

One by one, they took aim at Chelsea’s goal in the second half and in succession they hit the great wall of Willy Caballero. When the Argentine’s goal was finally breached, it was merely a consolation from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Caballero’s performance truly was one of boredom and brilliance — and in that order, for in the first half he had nothing to do except watch the same turgid game as everyone else, save for Antonio Rudiger’s goal on 26 minutes. But then how it all changed. Everton, managerless and apparently clueless under their caretaker, David Unsworth, suddenly smelled the salts.

They forced chance after chance, working their way through Chelsea’s second string. But they left with nothing, beaten by a man signed on a free transfer in the summer.
For Antonio Conte, it is clear that this is not a competition he will prioritise. Not yet anyway. But against the backdrop of his uneasy relationship at Chelsea, where he is under significant pressure for his job, this win was important.

In that context, it was perhaps a surprise to see the team he picked. Conte had indicated he would be going with a strong side, but ultimately the Italian kept only two players from the team that beat Watford at the weekend, with Rudiger and Gary Cahill retained in defence and Danny Drinkwater given his debut.

Finally. At long last. He lives. And maybe, just maybe, Chelsea can now breathe again themselves, because Drinkwater’s return from injury is desperately well-timed.
The midfield has been down on quality and personnel since N’Golo Kante was injured on international duty, and while Drinkwater will not fully compensate for the loss of Conte’s most important player, he ought to remove some of the vulnerabilities that have appeared in the past few weeks.

This was not his finest performance, with a few stray long balls and a few tired runs, but he also showed he has the touches and positional comfort of a player who helped Leicester do something incredible not so long ago.

In this tie, he was joined in the middle by 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu, who was making his first start. Will he make it? He looked solid, and played one particularly incisive first-half pass, but it’s a long-odds lottery for any young player in this Chelsea set-up.

A weak side? Not quite when it involved the likes of Willian among £150million of hardware, but also not close to what Conte would dream of using in the league.
As for Unsworth, he had riches of his own to call on, the legacy of a summer that offered so much but has led to pathetically little beyond the sacking of a manager.

The caretaker in Ronald Koeman’s place made his mark with five changes to the side crushed by Arsenal, most notably the inclusion of Lennon, who was making his first start since he was detained under the Mental Health Act earlier in the year.

His pace, as ever, was a threat. In the first half, though, Everton were horribly limited, barely capable of finding Rooney, much less putting him into any kind of position. They finished the half without logging a single shot on goal. At the back, they were even worse.

It was a defensive error that made the difference in the first half. That is probably putting it kindly, for Everton’s marking was shockingly poor when Willian rolled a short corner to Charly Musonda after 26 minutes.

Musonda took a touch, saw Rudiger lurking near the back post and in the time it took to whip in a cross no one even got close to the German. He had free space in all directions, so quite calmly headed back across goal and lobbed Jordan Pickford. Well executed, yes, but a gift of sorts as well.
Chelsea almost landed a second before the break when Drinkwater and Michy Batshuayi triggered a counter and Davide Zappacosta drilled into the side netting.

That was your lot for the first half. The second started with more of a bang, and quite literally as Beni Baningime, a 19-year-old debutant of some hype, crashed into Ampadu.

That collision seemed to jolt Everton rather than Chelsea. Within moments, Rooney had a volley saved by Caballero and then Lennon was also smothered by the keeper. A sign of life. Two good chances and two good saves.

Conte brought on Cesc Fabregas to replace Drinkwater but still the opportunities came for Everton, with Caballero forced into an exceptional save to stop Jagielka. He allowed himself a mini fist pump, before then getting down to keep out an effort from Mirallas. Brilliant stuff.

Ademola Lookman then hit the bar and the onslaught continued but from nowhere, Chelsea were safe, with Willian netting in stoppage time after a one-two with Fabregas.
Only then did Everton find a way through, Calvert-Lewin bundling past Caballero a minute later. It is testament to the old man that the goal was only a consolation.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Caballero 7.5; Rudiger 7, Christensen 6, Cahill 6; Zappacosta 6.5, Drinkwater 6.5 (Fabregas 62 6), Ampadu 6, Kenedy 6; Willian 7, Batshuayi 6 (Morata 84), Musonda 6.5 (Pedro 70 6).
Subs not used: Eduardo, Clarke-Salter, Sterling, Scott.
Manager: Antonio Conte 6.5
Booked: Rudiger

Everton (4-3-3): Pickford 6; Kenny 6, Williams 6, Jagielka 6, Baines 6; Davies 6, Baningime 6.5, McCarthy 6 (Calvert-Lewin 64 7); Lennon 6.5 (Lookman 73 6.5), Rooney 6 (Niasse 81), Mirallas 6.
Subs not used: Robles, Keane, Sigurdsson, Holgate.
Manager (caretaker): David Unsworth 5.5
Booked: Williams, Davies, McCarthy, Jagielka

Referee: Neil Swarbrick 6
MOTM: Caballero
Ratings by Sam Cunningham

RARE RUDIGER GOAL
Antonio Rudiger's last club goal was 535 days ago for Roma.
The German netted in a 3-0 win over Chievo in 2016.
Wednesday’s strike was just his fifth club goal.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Everton 1: David Unsworth's side defiant in defeat as Antonio Conte marches into League Cup quarter-finals

Sam Wallace, chief football writer, at stamford bridge

David Unsworth may know as soon as Friday whether he has a future as the long-term successor to Ronald Koeman but even if this turns out to be a short-lived second reign as the Everton caretaker manager, then he will reflect with some pride on this narrow cup defeat to Chelsea.

It is old English footballers like Unsworth, a successful and long-serving youth team coach, who rarely get the chance of a run in the big job and yet from a side drained of confidence, with no wins in their previous five he coaxed a much more coherent performance.

Everton’s late goal from substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin meant that Chelsea were never comfortable in this cup tie but, as Watford discovered on Saturday, they have a habit of winning games.

Antonio Conte’s team are in the Carabao Cup quarter-final draw on Thursday courtesy of a first-half header from Antonio Rudiger and a fine second from Willian in the third minute of time added on at the end, which preceded the collapse of the Chelsea defence that let in Calvert-Lewin. If this is a crisis for the Premier League champions then they are weathering it well, with the 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu given his first start, and places for Charly Musonda and Kenedy and a debut for Danny Drinkwater.

As for Unsworth, the former  defender will meet Bill Kenwright on Friday to discuss the future with the likelihood that he will also take the team for Sunday’s visit to Leicester City. “I’m scheduled to meet the chairman, but I speak to the chairman, two, three, four times a day,” he said.
“What will be, will be. I just have to be committed. We have to try and win some games. There’s no points return or game total that we’ve been set. We’ll just plan game to game. I can only influence the training sessions and the games  going forward.”

He selected one of his own development players, the 19-year-old Beni Baningime, who acquitted himself well on his debut in the centre of midfield, alongside fellow teenager Tom Davies.
Everton struggled before the break when Rudiger scored with a header after 25 minutes from  Musonda’s cross, but in the second half the away team came into their own. “I’m very proud of them,”  Unsworth said. “There’s so much to work with. I’m pleased but not too pleased, because we lost the game.

“I don’t know [what it will take to get the job]. I honestly don’t know. All I know is that we’ll hopefully be as committed as that every game that I’m in charge.”
Conte said it was crucial that “if you want to develop young players you have to give them a chance to play a tough game” although there are many Chelsea players out on loan who would be ahead of Ampadu in the queue were they currently at the club.

Rudiger looped a header back over Jordan Pickford for the first-half goal.
Wayne Rooney, eventually substituted, struggled to make an  impression for Everton and missed a good chance in the second half. He almost made a goal for Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi with a wayward back-pass, though.

Willian struck in the 92nd minute when he took a return from sub Cesc Fabregas out on the left and slipped a fine shot out of Pickford’s reach for Chelsea’s second goal. Then came Calvert-Lewin’s strike from close range and the game had an ending that felt like a cup tie.

Match details

Chelsea (3-4-3): Caballero 6; Rudiger 6, Christensen 6, Cahill 6; Zappacosta 6, Drinkwater 6 (Fabregas 62), Ampadu 7, Kennedy 6; Willian 7, Batshuayi 6 (Morata 85), Musonda 6 (Pedro 70).
Subs: Eduardo (g), Clarke-Salter, Scott, Sterling.
Booked: Rudiger.

​Everton (4-3-3): Pickford 6; Kenny 6, Jagielka 6, Williams 5, Baines 6; McCarthy 6 (Calvert-Lewin 64), Baningime 6, Davies 6; Lennon 5 (Lookman 73), Rooney 5 (Niasse 81), Mirallas 5.
Subs: Robles (g), Keane, Sigurdsson, Holgate.

Booked: Jagielka, Williams, McCarthy, Davies.
Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).

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