Romelu Lukaku comes back to haunt Chelsea, after the Belgian scored two goals in the space of 5 minutes to consign the Londoners to a 2-0 defeat. Chelsea, who have gone out of two cup competitions in the space of 5 days, also had Diego Costa sent off late on, with the Spaniard looking set to earn a further ban for video footage that showed him biting into Barry.
Lineups:
Everton XI (4-2-3-1): Robles; Coleman, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Lennon, Barkley, Cleverley; Lukaku.
Subs: Stones, Kone, Niasse, Besic, Deulofeu, Osman, Howard.
Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Kenedy; Mikel, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Pedro; Diego Costa.
Subs: Begovic, Baba, Oscar, Traore, Remy, Terry, Loftus-Cheek.
First Half
With new investor Farhad Moshiri in attendance, Everton's Goodison Park was in a rather raucous mood as the two sides lined up in the FA Cup sixth round tie. The blue half of Merseyside began the game with a high tempo, as Leighton Baines set up Tom Cleverley for an early shot on goal from the left edge of the box, but Thibaut Courtois made a comfortable save.
Chelsea also responded by keeping up the pace, with Kenedy shooting soon after. However, the footballing side of the game disappeared soon after, as Diego Costa and Gareth Barry clashed. The Spaniard jumped into Barry as his arms ran across the Englishman’s face in retribution for an earlier tackle, earning Costa an early yellow card.
The game descended into a series of fouls as the half progressed, with Jagielka going into the book for a foul on Fabregas in the 41st minute. Willian brought the first real save of the match from Joel Robles as the Everton keeper was forced to tip over the Brazilian’s powerful free-kick out for a corner, which he the Spaniard then proceeded to clear as a disappointing first half came to an end.
Second Half
The second half was a much better affair right from the off, as Funes Mori went close with a looping header from a corner in the 50th minute. Diego Costa nearly gave Chelsea the lead in the 57th minute, after Fabregas found his diagonal run into the box. The Spaniard went round a charging Robles, but from the acutest of angles, was only able to agonizingly flash the ball across the goal line.
The game sparked into life in the 77th minute, as Romelu Lukaku scored one of the most memorable FA Cup goals to give Everton the lead. The Belgian collected Barkley’s ball on the left wing, evaded Ivanovic’s diving tackle, held off Azpilicueta’s shoulder challenge, sidestepped Mikel as he entered the box, turned Gary Cahill inside and out before firing low across Courtois’ goal into the bottom corner.
The roof nearly came off Goodison Park 5 minutes later, as Lukaku scored his second in the 82nd minute. The Belgian was played through by Barkley on the right edge of the box, and hammered the ball into the net through Courtois’ legs with his right foot, thus ensuring Everton’s chances to go to Wembley.
The game exploded further in the 84th minute, as Diego Costa was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career, after clashing with Barry yet again and earning his second yellow. Replays showed that Costa appeared to bite Barry’s shoulder, which might earn him further retribution.
The FA Cup tie wasn’t done with the action, as Gareth Barry was also sent off having been booked earlier in the game, as the Englishman tugged at Fabregas to earn his second yellow and level the playing field. John Terry was thrown on as a centre-forward as Chelsea chased the game , but it was of no avail, as the referee blew the final whistle.
Chelsea go out of two cup competitions in 5 days, while Everton have a trip to Wembley to look forward to.
