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Chelsea were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by Everton at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday (March 18) as Ellis Simms scored an 89th-minute equalizer for the visitors.
After back-to-back league wins, the Blues were brought down to earth once again.
Graham Potter's side held possession for large spells of the game but were unable to break down Everton in the opening stanza. However, the home side returned from the break stronger and Joao Felix broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute.
Abdoulaye Doucoure equalized for the visitors 17 minutes later, but Kai Havertz restored Chelsea's lead from the penalty spot shortly after. In the dying moments of normal time, Simms, who'd come on as a substitute in the 79th minute, rampaged through the Blues defense before firing in to make it 2-2.
Chelsea remained in 10th position in the table while Everton earned a valuable point in their fight for survival. Here are the five major talking points from the match:
#5 Kai Havertz on a roll
With his penalty on Saturday, Kai Havertz has now scored in each of Chelsea's last three games in all competitions.
He completed the comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League from the penalty spot, restored his team's advantage against Leicester City, and now against Everton too.
In his trademark style, the German forward hopped and stuttered while halting before taking the penalty and smashing it into the right side of the net.
Havertz now has nine goals for the season in all competitions, needing just five more to equal his best tally of 14 for Chelsea from last year.
#4 Everton finding ways to score without Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Everton's prolific hitman Dominic Calvert-Lewin has struggled with injuries this season, making only 11 appearances in the Premier League, the last of which came on February 4 against Arsenal.
It's obviously a huge loss for the Toffees, but they managed to continue to score goals even without him - in their last seven games without him, Sean Dyche's side have scored in four, including each of their last three.
At Stamford Bridge, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ellis Simms were on target for the Merseyside outfit, with the former even scoring off a corner as Everton are finding ways to score aside from open play.
If Dyche is able to continue to get the best out of his side on the attacking front, the Toffees have a chance of survival.
#3 Graham Potter's substitution nightmare
Chelsea fans were unhappy with Graham Potter's substitutions on the day as he took off his key players on both occasions that his team were in front, allowing Everton a way back into the game.
After Joao Felix fired the Blues in front, Christian Pulisic was replaced by Conor Gallagher as Potter sought to protect the lead instead of keeping his side on the attacking foot, and just seven minutes later, the Toffees equalized.
Minutes after Kai Havertz's penalty, Mateo Kovacic, Felix and Wesley Fofana all gave way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah respectively.
The Blues let their guard down and paid for it once more as Simms made it 2-2 in the 89th minute.
It ain't over till it's over, Graham!
#2 Sean Dyche's impact on Everton is showing
Sean Dyche has won only thrice in the Premier League since taking charge of the club on 30 January this year but there's a visible change in Everton's performances under him.
Their goalscoring average has gone up from 0.71 to almost 0.9 even without Dominic Calvert-Lewin leading the line, but more importantly, the Toffees showed great fighting spirit at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea held possession for large spells of the clash and yet, the visitors were able to score twice in the match, coming back from a deficit each time to peg their mighty hosts back.
Dyche had spoken about changing the club's mentality after taking over and although there haven't been radical changes, change is visible, and their performance last night showed Everton can survive in the top flight.
#1 Chelsea's European push dealt a fresh blow
After three consecutive wins, Chelsea's form seemed to be on the up, but were brought down to earth last night with yet another disappointing result in the Premier League.
It was the 17th time in 27 top-flight matches that the Blues have dropped points this season and with only 38 points in the bag, they languish in 10th position in the table.
Forget playing in the Champions League, the west London outfit may not have any European football next season despite spending over a combined £500 million in new signings.
Graham Potter won't survive that, no matter how much the owners are backing him right now, and he has only 11 games to turn the fortunes of the club around, and it will be interesting to see if he can pull it off, especially with games against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City all coming up in the home stretch.
