'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Romelu Lukaku returned to haunt his former club Chelsea with two well-taken goals and send Everton to the FA Cup semi-finals. The brace from the Belgian forward helped the Toffees reach their second semis in a domestic cup this season, leaving Guus Hiddink’s men feeling the blues. The game, however, was marred by two red cards as Diego Costa and Gareth Barry were both sent off, making it a 10 on 10 affair.With a trip to Wembley secured, Everton will be hoping to go one better than their semi-final exit in the Capital One Cup this season. For Chelsea, however, this arguably represented their last chance of salvaging this season with a trophy. Now the Blues have nine games in the Premier League left to play, with Europa League qualification looking unlikely at the moment given their performance tonight and league position.Here are the five biggest talking points from the feisty encounter at Goodison Park this season.
#1 Does Diego Costa bite Gareth Barry?
After entangling with Gareth Barry in the first half and earning a yellow card, Diego Costa was walking on a tightrope the whole game. After having further clashes with Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines where he wasn’t at fault, Diego Costa went close with Chelsea’s best chance when he rounded Robles but failed to put the ball in the net from a very acute angle.
Powerlessly watching on as his defence collapsed in the game, Diego Costa got visibly frustrated from a challenge from Gareth Barry. After a minor clash of heads, Costa looked like he was biting Gareth Barry. Costa attempted to make up with Gareth Barry later on with a hug, but referee Micheal Oliver had seen enough and cautioned both men, with Diego Costa being sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career much to amusement of the Goodison faithful.
Notably, Gareth Barry did not react to any possible bite and did not appeal as such. Roberto Martinez and Guus Hiddink played down the incident after the match, chalking it up as emotions from a cup tie while Hiddink claiming he did not see the incident. However, if the FA deem it as a bite, retrospective action will be taken. The precedent to a bite is a 10 match ban given to Luis Suarez, that would rule Diego Costa out for the rest of the season and also the opening match of next season.
#2 Romelu Lukaku returns to haunt his former club
Since his bumper move to the Merseyside, Romelu Lukaku has gone from strength to strength and has improved as each season has gone. While he still has some technical limitations and could be more consistent, it is important to remember he is still only 22 years old. In his third season at Everton right now, the Belgian has proved to be trouble for all and sundry in the Premie League. However, Chelsea was clearly one scalp that he craved and one that had till now eluded him.
Now at the fifth time of asking against his former club, he finally put one over his former club. These were the moments that he was signed for, and he has delivered.
#3 Chelsea fail to turn up, it\'s a long road ahead
While Diego Costa was full of passion on the day, his Chelsea teammates seemed uninspired and still reeling from the PSG defeat. Hiddink opted to go with midfield three of Matic, Mikel and Fabregas, but the trio were listless for the entire game. Their running was lethargic, while their passing and tackling left much to be desired. Given that this was their last shot at silverware, the players failed to show any type of passion that was evident in the midweek game against PSG.
Indeed, save for one Diego Costa chance where he just couldn’t steer the ball goalwards, the only time Chelsea threatened Everton was a freekick from Willian. Pedro, Loic Remy, Willian or Oscar did not show any signs of scoring. With an impotent attack, it was left for the defence to keep Chelsea into this tie. However, Chelsea were coming into this game having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games. Since Kurt Zouma’s injury, Chelsea has failed to keep a clean sheet. After embarrassing themselves in the first goal, they showed their lack of cohesion in the second as the failed to keep an offside line, similar to the goals Paris Saint-Germain scored midweek.
Whoever takes charge at Stamford Bridge, he is faced with a similar rebuilding job. While there is a chance that the current crop could rise up next season, right now it looks like that Chelsea might just need a new spine to the team.
#4 Everton improve after West Ham debacle
The major talking point for Everton this season has been their inability to see out a lead. Their defensive fragility and failure to shut up shop to get their reward from a good performance has cost them time and time again this season. In fact, there was a sense of inevitability when West Ham came back from two goals down to score three in the last 20 minutes and win the match in their Premier League clash last weekend. Their shortcomings has seen the Toffees seriously underachieving this season.
Crucially for Martinez however, it was Everton who showed real mental resilience that he had claimed in the second half to seize the initiative in the tie. Lukaku deservedly will take the plaudits, but Lennon and Barkley started to impose themselves in the second half as well. The FA Cup represents the only chance right now for Everton to end their season on a high note. However, they will need to improve on today’s performance if they are to go past the last two hurdles.
#5 John Terry returns from injury; Hazard and Pato miss out
This surely is last time we see John Terry in a Chelsea shirt in the FA Cup. The Chelsea skipper is currently set to be released at the end of the campaign, and this looks to be his farewell tour. After sustaining an injury against Newcastle last month, John Terry was back tonight and found himself on the bench. With the tie lost at 2-0, the former England skipper was scheduled to come on for what might be his last appearance in the FA Cup. Despite Diego Costa getting sent off, Hiddink went through with the substitution and pushed John Terry up top. Terry coming back will lead Chelsea to going back to the stock back four of Ivanovic-Cahill-Terry-Azpilicueta, as Hiddink seems to have left Baba Rahman in the wilderness for his mistake against Southampton.
Meanwhile, Eden Hazard’s father said in an interview that his son was playing through the pain barrier since the Leicester game where he had to be subbed off and has not been a 100% till now. After playing through the pain barrier for the majority of the match, Hazard asked to be substituted late on in the game and got booed by a fair portion of the fans. His future certainly hangs in the balance.
Finally, despite making the bench in the last few matches, Alexandre Pato failed to even be on the matchday squad in this game. With only nine matches remaining in the season, it remains unclear as to what were the motives behind the loan move but if Costa does pick up a hefty suspension, the Brazilian might be in line for some minutes on the pitch.
