Everton 0-1

Independent:

Everton 1 Chelsea 0
Steven Naismith leaves Jose Mourinho fuming with decisive strike

Tim Rich

Jose Mourinho stood on the touchline on a piece of grass that carried the slogan he and Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, have always lived by.
Stung by the criticism that accompanied their removal of Nil Satis Nisi Optimum from the club badge, Everton ensured that the Latin for “only the best will do” is plastered everywhere around Goodison Park, including by the dug-outs.
This was not the best and it would not do for a man who deals purely in silverware or for an owner who fired the man who brought him the European Cup on the grounds that, frankly, Roberto di Matteo was not famous enough.
Mourinho is the ultimate managerial celebrity and he would argue that this was both a game Chelsea should have won and that, once they were behind, he tried everything in his power to drag them level – an early double substitution and then the gamble of replacing Ashley Cole with Fernando Torres.
He moaned: “If they don’t have a killer instinct, then they will have to get one. When you have an easy match in which to score goals, then you have to score them. Before they scored, we had easy chances.”
Having given him his debut, Mourinho excluded Samuel Eto’o from criticism, saying: “Samuel has been a killer all his career.”
Chelsea have seldom relished their games at Goodison. It was here, in the old stadium’s narrow corridors, that Carlo Ancelotti, the one Chelsea manager of modern times who could match Mourinho’s achievements, was fired. The man himself had never lost here – until now. Mourinho has claimed to have mellowed but his pledge to be nicer to Arsène Wenger may not survive a glance at the league table.
The more Chelsea lumbered forward, the more they were exposed to Everton’s counterattacks. David Luiz was fortunate not to be shown a red card by Howard Webb when he hauled down Kevin Mirallas andlate on Leighton Baines, the man Roberto Martinez had somehow managed to keep from Manchester United’s clutches, sent a free-kick slamming against the post.
This was Martinez’s first League win since succeeding David Moyes and it was a profoundly impressive one tactically and for its impact on a crowd who may have started to judge his appointment sceptically.
In honour of their new manager, Everton had designated this as a Spanish-themed evening with paella and sangria available in the Goodison fan zone and Julio Iglesias on the loudspeakers. During the bitter years of General Pinochet’s dictatorship his torturers used to play the one-time Real Madrid keeper’s songs at maximum volume over and over again to unsettle their victims.
The last chords to Begin the Beguine had not long died away when you sensed that this might be an evening that would stretch and break Everton as surely as any of the general’s thumbscrews.
Chelsea took command and the only question appeared to be whether, of the men who accompanied Mourinho in his second coming, it would be Samuel Eto’o or Andre Schurrle who opened the scoring.
Soon after the interval, Schurrle wheeled away apparently convinced he had equalised only for the ball to strike the side netting.
That Martinez was allowed to deliver his half-time team talk with his side improbably ahead was down to a close-range header from Steven Naismith and some wonderful tackling from Gareth Barry.
Of the three signings Martinez took to Goodison on deadline day, Barry was the most famous and provoked the least comment. In part it may have been because at 32 he is regarded as a footballer who already belongs to yesterday. He is the kind of midfielder whom you would take if you required a gritty, goalless draw in Ukraine but he was not considered for that even by Roy Hodgson. From the moment Manuel Pellegrini took over, Manchester City gave the impression that, naturally, he was someone they no longer needed.
Everton, however, certainly did, partly because one of the jobs Marouane Fellaini did very well was to break up attacks, although, like Barry, he conceded plenty of yellow cards in doing it.
Twice, Barry swept the ball from Juan Mata’s feet and then denied the evening’s other debutant, Eto’o a certain goal. It began with a move that summed up much of the play as David Luiz began a long, sweeping run that finished with the ball punted aimlessly forward. Phil Jagielka then passed it back to his goalkeeper and panic broke loose.
Tim Howard, who is sporting the shaven head and luxuriant beard look that would get him a game in any Taliban Select XI, passed straight to Schurrle, who picked out Eto’o facing a more-or-less empty net. Then came Barry’s block.
The waste was punished with the final move of the first half and it was one that Chelsea misjudged badly. Leon Osman’s cross to Petr Cech’s far post should have been cut out by Ashley Cole but it was John Terry who moved to intercept and was beaten to the ball by Nikica Jelavic. His header across the goal was met by another from Naismith at point-blank, unmissable range.

Everton: (4-2-3-1) Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Osman, Barry; Naismith (Stones, 88), Barkley, Mirallas (Deulofeu, 90); Jelavic (McCarthy, 68).

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole (Torres, 70);  Ramires, Mikel, Hazard, Mata (Oscar, 60), Schurrle (Lampard, 60); Eto’o.

Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Barry (Everton)
Match rating: 7/10

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Observer:

Everton inflict first Premier League defeat on José Mourinho's Chelsea
Paul Wilson at Goodison Park

Everton gained their first win of the season at the expense of Chelsea, unexpectedly inflicting a first league defeat since José Mourinho's return to London in a manner that must have had the coach pining for the direct attacking football he once used to advocate.
Mourinho for one would not have been expecting to lose here, and the sheer number of talented midfielders at his disposal meant Everton were second best in many areas of the pitch and never exactly comfortably in front. Yet playing with pride and a sense of purpose that supporters were pleased to see has survived from the David Moyes era, Roberto Martínez's side refused to be overawed and simply made more of their chances. Chelsea created more than enough opportunities without managing to match the home side's attacking conviction, which by the end, with Goodison rocking noisily as of old, was considerable.
"We had chances and chances but we didn't score," Mourinho said. "If you don't score you can't win, and what you create means nothing. Artistic football is no good without goals. Better to win the match by creating little but scoring once, then you have three points."
Everton hardly deserved that dig, but they will cope. With Ramires setting up the first opening of the game for Samuel Eto'o after just five minutes Chelsea attacked confidently and looked to have too many tricky ball carriers for the home defence to deal with, never more so than when Juan Mata skipped elegantly away from attempted tackles by Leon Osman and Sylvain Distin and was only stopped by the solid presence of Gareth Barry providing extra security in his own penalty area. Everton were almost being forced to play on the counter, though that suits them quite well, and Nikica Jelavic brought the first save of the game from Petr Cech with a header from a Steven Naismith cross that the striker would have preferred to have been whipped across a little earlier.
Eto'o put his first serious shot into the top tier of the Gwladys Street stand, which takes some doing and amused the locals no end, before missing the best chance of the first half from much closer to goal. When Tim Howard was put under pressure from a backpass and gave the ball straight to André Schürrle, it appeared all Eto'o had to do was tap the latter's square ball into an empty net. Fortunately for Everton, Barry arrived just in time and one debutant was foiled by another, the Manchester City loanee just managing to get a foot in to block the shot and hear his name chanted appreciatively by his new public. "Schürrle's pass was too slow," moaned Mourinho. "A faster pass and Eto'o would have scored."
In keeping with the pattern of the game Everton broke straight down the field and set up the next chance, Kevin Mirallas turning up on the right to pick out Naismith with an accurate low pass, only to see a snatched shot miss the target from a promising position. Perhaps realising that Everton could actually have taken the lead despite being outplayed for most of the first half, Chelsea stepped up their efforts before the interval, creating chances for Ramires, Schürrle and Branislav Ivanovic without making their evident superiority count.
They were left regretting that when Everton scored with virtually the last action of the half, taking a lead they barely deserved but proving that Chelsea's defence remains vulnerable to anyone willing to have a go. They switched off twice, first to allow Ross Barkley and Osman to find some space on the right and then when the latter's cross was reached by Jelavic beyond the far post. It appeared Jelavic was too wide and too close to the goal line to present a direct threat, but what he could still do was reach the ball and keep it in play, and Chelsea could only stand and watch as a header back across goal was easily turned past Cech by Naismith. Cue Spanish dancers on the pitch at half time, not in honour of the goal but of the new Everton manager, who probably found his interval team talk went with a swing as a result of Naismith's timely intervention.
Eto'o looked in good nick for a player supposedly nearing the veteran stage, though he might have reacted more quickly at the beginning of the second half when Howard failed to hold an Eden Hazard shot and he could not quite fasten on to the rebound.
Again Everton were soaking up a lot of Chelsea pressure, though the visitors were no longer playing as neatly and imaginatively as they had in the first half. They resorted to more crosses, which Distin and Phil Jagielka found fairly easy to deal with, especially as Eto'o was not always in the middle as a target.
Mourinho introduced Frank Lampard and Oscar after an hour for Mata and Schürrle, shuffling his midfield options and keeping Fernando Torres on the bench until 20 minutes from the end. Willian was in attendance did not in the squad. Chelsea still subsided quite limply as the game neared its conclusion and, though they had begun rather tentatively, by the end Everton looked the team in charge, and almost had a second when Leighton Baines struck the bar with a free-kick.
"It wasn't the greatest performance but we showed our character," Martínez said, sounding uncannily like Moyes. "The way we defended was immense. We were more dominant in our previous three games, but this will give us more confidence."
With Barkley visibly growing in confidence and Romelu Lukaku still to come, Martínez is up and running, though there must be more than a few Chelsea fans wondering if it was really such a good idea to let Lukaku out on loan.


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Telegraph:

Everton 1 Chelsea 0:

Jason Burt

Jose Mourinho has accused Chelsea of lacking a “killer instinct”. For such an accusation to come from a manager for whom that quality is a given, it was damning – and one that will reverberate. This could turn out to be a watershed moment for some Chelsea players.
“Artistic football without goals is not good,” Mourinho continued after this 1-0 defeat, the first he has ever suffered at Goodison Park. On six previous visits he has gained four wins and two draws but the Happy One was understandably unhappy. He demands efficiency, not fluffiness.
Mourinho went on to list some of his team’s misdemeanours – detailing just four of the many misses they racked up.
“The first cross, Ramires cross, Eto’o open goal,” he said. “He just needed to head it. It’s a goal. Schürrle just needs to give a quick five-metre pass. It’s a goal. The other – Schürrle in front of [Tim] Howard in the first half. He just needs to pass the ball into the goal. Over the bar. The second half – Ivanovic cross and Eto’o. It’s always a goal. He’s scored hundreds of those in his career. Just touch. These details are not about sharpness – it’s about a killer instinct.”
And that sharpness is something felt in the gut of the player – it cannot be coached. But then neither will Mourinho countenance its absence for long – Schürrle and Juan Mata were hauled off less than an hour in.
“In the first half it was quite easy, they [Everton] didn’t press a lot and I think when you have quite an easy match to score goals you have to score. It’s difficult to accept when you don’t score,” Mourinho said, and while he complained about referee Howard Webb’s failure to award a penalty, after Oscar was challenged in the area, it was, in the end, a deserved victory for Everton.
For their new manager, Roberto Martínez, it will fuel belief, especially in the way he wants his team to play. There were performances of “character” all over the pitch, he said, but debutant Gareth Barry was simply outstanding in his calm efficiency, while 19-year-old Ross Barkley is the most exciting young English prospect in the Premier League.
He played a key role in Everton’s goal, although it also owed much to errors by Petr Cech and an out-of-sorts Ashley Cole. Barkley dipped his shoulder on the edge of the area, eking out space to slip a pass to Leon Osman, who stood a cross up to the back post. Nikica Jelavic, just, managed to head back across goal. The ball evaded Cech and there was Steven Naismith to head into the net from three yards. It was on the stroke of half-time.
By then, though, Chelsea could have been out of sight. Eto’o, who was making his debut, inexplicably headed back across goal in the first five minutes. Soon afterwards Howard, also inexplicably, passed straight at Schürrle but his ball to Eto’o was too slow and Barry threw himself in to divert the shot over.
Howard then pushed out a curling Ramires shot before Schürrle, with yet another one of the chances Mourinho alluded to, side-footed over, Branislav Ivanovic missed with a header and Mata floated a shot wide.
After seeing the second half begin with a host of further missed chances, Mourinho indulged in some tactical jiggery pokery.
He rang the changes – including bringing on Fernando Torres for Cole – with David Luiz, Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel all changing positions, with the result that the encounter was even more frenetic. It meant Mikel was all over the place. In more ways than one.
Although Torres, inevitably, fluffed a late chance, miscuing a shot, it was Everton who came closest as they continued to profit from Barkley’s ability to run with the ball. Leighton Baines lined up a free-kick, clipping the top of the crossbar.
Chelsea poured forward but simply could not find the breakthrough, reduced, after their tiki-taka approach, to slinging the ball into the area. It was meat and drink to the Everton defence as they politely ignored Martínez’s entreaties to play the ball out.
“The way we reacted, the way we defended, was immense,” Martínez said afterwards. And it was. It was the kind of result and display which will galvanise unbeaten Everton around him.
For Mourinho it was the kind of result he will use as a spur for contests to come. “If they don’t have it, they have to get it,” he said of that “killer instinct”. “But I think they have it,” he added. He did not seem convinced. Again.

Match details

Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Coleman 7, Distin 7, Jagielka 7, Baines 7; Naismith 7 (Stones 89), Osman 5, Barry 9 Mirallas 6 (Deulofeu 90); Barkley 8; Jelavic 5 (McCarthy 66).
Subs: Robles (g), Heitinga, Oviedo, Gueye.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 5; Cole 4 (Torres 69), Terry 6, Luiz 5, Ivanovic 6; Mikel 5, Ramires 6; Hazard 7, Mata 7 (Oscar 57), Schürrle 6 (Lampard 57); Eto’o 6.
Subs: Schwarzer (g), Essien, De Bruyne, Cahill.
Booked: Ivanovic, Luiz, Mikel, Hazard.

Referee H Webb (South Yorkshire).

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Mail:

Everton 1 Chelsea 0: Naismith leaves Eto'o in the shade as Toffees stun Mourinho
By Rob Draper

There are few better places to watch the defeat of one of the major English clubs than Goodison Park.
The old stadium seemingly magnifies the noise tenfold, the roar of the crowd growing ever more frantic as Evertonians anticipate a famous victory.
Saturday was just such an evening. Everton, with Ross Barkley outstanding and Leon Osman, Gareth Barry and Steven Naismith to the fore, were excellent. Chelsea, despite an array of chances, looked strangely vulnerable amid the cacophony of noise.
It will be a while before we can question Chelsea’s transition under Jose Mourinho but it is fair to say seven points from four games and a UEFA Super Cup defeat, albeit on penalties, was not the start he would have anticipated.
This does not look like Mourinho’s Chelsea at present. They lack the authority of old, with neither overwhelming strength nor ruthlessness under pressure. They look a team with an identity crisis, caught between the manager’s requirements and the owner’s vision.
‘Artistic football without goals is not good,’ said Mourinho as he listed the litany of chances his team missed, debutant Samuel Eto’o and summer signing Andre Schurrle bearing the brunt of his criticism.
He offered no easy excuses for the slackness in defence and finishing. ‘I don’t think it’s a question of sharpness,’ he said before identifying the lazy ball from Schurrle on 28 minutes and the delay from Eto’o that allowed Barry back to block in front of an open goal after Tim Howard’s mix-up with Sylvain Distin.
‘Perhaps it is not having the killer instinct. If they don’t have it they have to get it but I think they have it.
‘My team are always my team. Winning, losing, playing badly, they are always my responsibility. Later they will have more the identity of the manager and it’s easier to do that after five months than after four weeks.’
By contrast, we might be witnessing the first signs of what Roberto Martinez’s Everton could look like.
They appear to have lost little of the steel of the David Moyes era but have added a refined edge that allows them to contest possession with the best. Yesterday they did concede chances but they looked distinctly the better side.
‘We had all the attributes that you have to have in a winning side,’ said Martinez. ‘I thought we were a 10 in that respect. It was one of those victories that helps fans to understand it’s going to take a bit of time to be as good as we can be but we can still win games in the process.’
Barry was singled out for praise — ‘no Englishman plays that role as well as Gareth’ — as was Barkley — ‘the more you’re watching him, the more you’re falling in love’.
But Chelsea had all the early chances, the opening one for debutant Eto’o, a close-range header that cleared the bar. ‘It just needed a header and Goal!’ said Mourinho, unimpressed.
There was the miss Mourinho lamented on 28 minutes then Schurrle skied an opportunity on 38 minutes.
‘He just needed to pass the ball to the goal,’ said Mourinho. Ramires was blocked by Howard before Branislav Ivanovic headed Juan Mata’s free-kick over on 41 minutes.
But Everton took their chance, with Petr Cech and Ashley Cole at fault in the build-up. ‘We are not speaking about young kids,’ said Mourinho. But then Barkley’s quick feet fed Osman, whose cross picked out Nikica Jelavic at the far post. The Croat somehow kept the ball in as he headed across for Naismith, celebrating his 27th birthday, to direct home a close-range header.
Chelsea charged forward in the second half, with Schurrle’s chip nestling in the side netting. Then Eto’o met a cross tamely with his chest, allowing Howard to collect.
‘Eto’o scored hundreds of goals in his career like this,’ said Mourinho. ‘He appears at the near post and Goal! But it wasn’t a good touch.’
Mata was withdrawn on 57 minutes, bringing his total playing time in five games under Mourinho to just over two hours, and Schurrle followed, with Oscar and Frank Lampard asked to provide more incision. Oscar might have earned a penalty when sandwiched by two defenders. ‘If that is not a penalty, what is a penalty?’ asked Mourinho.
James McCarthy replaced Jelavic for his Everton debut on 65 minutes. Mourinho adjusted accordingly, bringing on Fernando Torres to play two up front and a back three.
But Everton thrived. A Mirallas free-kick was pushed wide by Cech before David Luiz wrestled Mirallas to the ground on 82 minutes. The defender was a long way out but only the covering run of John Obi Mikel could have convinced referee Howard Webb that a goalscoring opportunity had not been denied.
When Leighton Baines crashed a late free-kick against the bar, the only real question was whether Everton would add to their lead.

Everton (4-2-3-1): Howard 6: Coleman 8, Jagielka 7, Distin 7, Baines 8: Osman 6, Barry 8: Mirallas 7 (Deulofeu 90mins), Barkley 9, Jelavic 6 (McCarthy 66mins 6): Naismith 7 (Stones 89mins).
Subs not used: Robles, Heitinga, Oviedo, Gueye.
Goal: Naismith 45+1

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 7: Ivanovic 6, Luiz 5, Terry 7, Cole 5 (Torres 69mins 4): Mikel 5, Ramires 6: Schurrle 6 (Lampard 57mins 6), Mata 5 (Oscar 57mins 5), Hazard 7: Eto'o 5.
Subs not used: Schwarzer (GK), Essien, De Bruyne, Cahill.

Booked: Ivanovic, Hazard, Luiz, Mikel.
Ref - Howard Webb 7

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Mirror:

Everton 1-0 Chelsea: Birthday boy Steven Naismith secures memorable win for dogged Toffees

Anthony Clavane

Steven Naismith won’t forget his 27th birthday in a hurry, popping up to score his first goal of the season against Chelsea at Goodison Park.
Naismith led the line brilliantly for Scotland in Macedonia on Tuesday night — and yesterday the striker capped another superb performance with a vital strike.
The mood at Goodison was ­buoyant as Everton chalked up their first league triumph of the Premier League season.
New signings Gareth Barry and James McCarthy were excellent in their first appearances for the home side as Martinez’s men soaked up Chelsea pressure ­before hitting the visitors on the break with the kind of high tempo, in-your-face football that has served them so well in the past.
Naismith scored in the last ­meeting between the clubs — a 2-1 Chelsea win at Stamford Bridge in May — and yesterday evening he appeared to be galvanised by his promotion up the international pecking order.
He had several chances to score before he finding the net on the stroke of half-time to give the ­Toffees the lead.
First he headed Naismith’s cross straight at Petr Cech. Then he made a fine run down the right but his angled shot was again ­comfortably collected by Cech.
Leon Osman and Kevin Mirallas combined well before Mirallas picked out the Scot at the near post — but scuffed his shot wide. The ­impressive Ross Barkley found Osman whose cross to ­Nikica Jelavic was headed back across goal — and there was the birthday boy to nod the ball in.
Naismith said: “The spirit is the same from the previous regime. We’ve a great team spirit and it showed today.
“There’s been a drastic change to the way we played last season. But now we’ve got our first win let’s hope we can go on from here.”
The first half was dominated by the battle of the new boys — ­Samuel Eto’o and Barry. Eto’o looked sharp, strong and full of movement — but Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin had the measure of him.
Barry was superb and linked well with new England star ­Barkley. Clearly, Martinez (below) wasn’t missing Marouane Fellaini.
Eto’o’s first touch in English ­football was an excellent ­opportunity to open the scoring, but he placed his header from Ramires’s cross over the bar. Juan Mata then went past two players before Barry made a fine sliding tackle to keep him out.
Barry made an even more ­crucial intervention after half an hour’s play.
Eto’o was gifted a great chance after Tim Howard found Andre Schurrle with an ­appalling ­clearance, but the ­England ­midfielder made a ­brilliant saving tackle.
Howard quickly made amends with a fine diving save to deny Ramires after Eto’o set up the ­Brazilian.
Just after the interval, Schurrle missed a sitter. Put through for a one-on-one with Howard by Ramires, he lifted the ball over the keeper but into the side netting.
Mourinho made a double ­substitution — Frank ­Lampard and Oscar coming on for Mata and Schurrle — followed by ­Fernando Torres for Ashley Cole.
But the Merseysiders held on — and could have added another if David Luiz had not brought down Kevin Mirallas. Referee Howard Webb, much to the crowd’s ­disapproval, booked rather than sent off the defender.
This was Everton’s first league win of the season — they had drawn all three of their previous Premier League matches — and it was fully deserved.

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Express:

Everton 1 - Chelsea 0: Feast of Steven is Jose Mourinho's unhappy day

WHEN Jose Mourinho returned as Chelsea manager, the self-styled ‘Special One’ declared he was now the ‘Happy One’.

By: Richard Jolly

Not yesterday. Not when he suffered his first Premier League defeat for six years. Not when his wasteful team missed chance after chance. And not when a star-studded side, whose substitutes alone cost £130million, were beaten by a goal from a man signed on a free transfer. Mourinho was the ‘Unhappy One’.
Because as Steven Naismith celebrated his 27th birthday with a vital strike, Roberto Martinez marked his first league victory as Everton manager by claiming a major scalp. The criticism of the Spaniard was that he doesn’t win enough matches but, time and again, he has triumphed in big games. This was huge. It kick-started his reign as Everton proved there was life after David Moyes and Marouane Fellaini.
However, following on from the Super Cup loss to Bayern Munich, it is now a stuttering start to Mourinho’s second spell. It was also more Merseyside heartbreak for the Portuguese, who lost two Champions League semi-finals across Stanley Park at Anfield.
It was more trouble at Goodison Park for Chelsea managers. Carlo Ancelotti was sacked in its cramped corridors and the end was nigh for Andre Villas-Boas after he lost to Everton.
Mourinho’s team were the architects of their own downfall, conceding when they seemed at their strongest. After 10 minutes of Chelsea domination, it came as a shock. Leon Osman chipped a cross to the back post where Nikica Jelavic, who can’t buy a goal himself, managed to set one up.
He headed the ball into Naismith’s path for the Scot to touch it over the line. Only starting because Steven Pienaar was injured in training, Naismith made the most of his sudden promotion to go from reserve to match-winner.
But the game should have been decided by Mourinho’s newest striker. Given the task of replacing Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o performed an uncanny impression of the misfiring Spaniard in front of goal.
Excellent in every other respect, the finishing touch eluded the triple Champions League winner. Reunited with Mourinho, the debutant could have made an instant impact. Four minutes into his Chelsea bow, the unmarked Cameroonian was found by Ramires. The cross was unerringly accurate. The header wasn’t, Eto’o missing the target.
Half an hour in, he seemed to have an open goal. Aiming to find Phil Jagielka, Tim Howard passed straight to Andre Schurrle. The German squared the ball unselfishly to Eto’o, near the penalty spot.
It appeared a formality he would score. Instead, Gareth Barry, hurtling into the box, slid in to deflect his shot over.
At fault then, Howard made amends by tipping Ramires’ shot wide. Schurrle spooned an effort over. Branislav Ivanovic met the recalled Juan Mata’s free-kick with a thumping header that flew into the crowd.
Then, when Chelsea seemed the likelier scorers, Everton broke and Naismith swooped.
The Chelsea pressure continued. Schurrle’s chip landed in the side netting before Mourinho flung on Frank Lampard, Oscar and Torres. Martinez handed James McCarthy his debut, shoring up the midfield. Alongside the £13million man, the Everton newcomer Barry was superb on his first start.
And with the man Everton kept out of Manchester United’s clutches, Leighton Baines, hitting the bar, it made for an ideal occasion.


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Star:

Everton 1 - Chelsea 0: Steven Naismith KO's Jose Mourinho

STEVEN NAISMITH was the ­surprise Everton hero as ­Samuel Eto’o fired blanks on a ­disastrous Blues debut.

By Jeremy Butler

Striking superstar Eto’o has three Champions League winners medals and pockets a whopping £7million a year.
But at Goodison Park he looked more like a park player struggling to recover from a night on the booze and fags.
And while the Cameroon striker blew chance after chance to get off the mark, Scot Naismith netted the clincher as Jose Mourinho suffered his first defeat since returning to English football.
Eto’o spent his week telling anyone who would listen how much he cherished his friendship with Mourinho (below).
But sticking away one of the numerous opportunities Chelsea created would have been a better way to show his loyalty.
The worst miss came as early as the fifth minute when Ramires’ sweet cross from deep allowed the striker to get ahead of Phil Jagielka – but he ­angled his header well wide of the target.
It was the first of many and Eto’o’s ­misery was complete when he failed to capitalise on a Tim Howard clanger – ­although Everton’s players were slapping their own new signing Gareth Barry on the back for denying the Cameroon star.
Howard inexplicably gifted the ball to Andre Schurrle when trying to pass out from the back and the German cut a ball into the path of Eto’o.
He looked odds on to roll his effort into an empty net until Barry charged across the box and got a foot in to deflect the Chelsea man’s effort into the stands.
Everton’s own hitman, Nikica Jelavic, had earlier failed to convert a decent headed chance.
He had to hold off the powerful ­Branislav Ivanovic to reach Naismith’s ball through but was unable to get enough power on his effort to beat Petr Cech.
Kevin Mirallas then drilled in a low cross that Naismith cracked wide from ten yards out.
Howard redeemed himself following his earlier mistake by pushing a ­well-taken Ramires volley around the post.
But Chelsea let the home side off the hook again when Schurrle clipped the ball over. Mourinho, never one to hide his emotions, threw his hands up in the air.
His mood hardly improved when Ivanovic headed over a ­free-kick in the 40th minute.
And he must have gone ballistic at half-time after Chelsea had shipped a sloppy goal seconds before the interval.
Leon Osman had too much time in the box to aim a cross to the far post, where the unmarked Jelavic headed it back into the danger zone.
The ball found Naismith six yards out and he had the simple task of nodding past an exposed Cech.
Chelsea then flew out of the blocks as they attempted to rescue the game.
Ramires fed Schurrle in the 48th minute, with the German lifting the ball over Howard – only to see it fade off ­target and drop into the side-netting.
Eden Hazard powered in a shot that flew back off Howard’s chest to Eto’o but once more the striker was wayward with his finish.
The striker’s confidence was not ­dropping though and he cheekily chested the ball goalwards as the visitors dominated – but Howard was alert to the danger.
But Chelsea’s high ­energy game dropped off the pace and Mourinho, desperate to spark his team, hauled off Ashley Cole and stuck on ­Fernando Torres.
It was Everton that came closest to scoring, though, with Cech ­doing well to smother a Mirallas ­free-kick at the foot of his post and Leighton Baines clipping the bar with a free-kick in ­stoppage time.
Martinez said: “It feels ­really good to win because it was a special game, a special opposition and a very good performance.
“It was one of those performances where, as a manager, you are very proud.”
Mourinho felt his side could have won and said: “We had 21 shots, risked everything but a team who misses chances deserves to lose.”