Everton 3-0 Chelsea: Match Report & Instant Reaction | Beto brace delivers victory
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After the excellent performance against Arsenal last week, the task ahead was another challenge with Chelsea in town. Three very poor results for Chelsea showed their vulnerabilities and David Moyes had to see this as an opportunity to pick up some points. The first goal was going to be critical as Everton have not scored in the previous four meetings, although they did pick up a point in their last match at Goodison Park.
Team News
Only one change for the Blues had James Tarkowski returning despite having been listed as an injury doubt before kick-off. That change meant James Garner moved back into his favoured midfield role.
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Chelsea made three changes with Wesley Fofana coming in for Trevoh Chalobah who was ruled out for six weeks after injuring his ankle. Malo Gusto returned from illness to come in for Mamadou Sarr, while Romeo Lavia was preferred to Andrey Santos in midfield.
Match Report
A raucous welcome for the Everton boys as they arrived at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Another great welcome organized by The 1878’s and supported by thousands of Blues on Regent Road.
🔊 A loud welcome for our players ahead of this evening's clash with Chelsea. @The1878s ✊ pic.twitter.com/3bC0dIMcQY
— Everton (@Everton) March 21, 2026
Everton were on the front foot right from the off with high pressure being applied. KDH nicked the ball and drove into the box but showed too much of the ball. Chelsea broke the press but Caicedo’s shot was miles wide. A long kick from Pickford was headed out by Fofana which presented the Blues with their first corner but the referee saw a foul. The free kick was completely hashed by Sanchez almost led to a goal from Beto but the ball was taken off his toe at the last second. A bright start for Everton.
Chelsea finally got on the ball and tried to slow the game down. McNeil slid a pass into Beto who centred it to KDH who got the shot away but it was blocked by Fofana. Neto got Chelsea’s first touch in the Everton box after 15 minutes but O’Brien shielded out for a goal kick. Some great pressure from Ndiaye received cheers from the home fans.
Everton were pushing hard to get the first goal but Chelsea were holding firm. Chelsea were very casual in their passing which was letting Everton pile on the pressure. Cole Palmer was taken down on the edge but nothing was given. Palmer was starting to see some space in between the midfield and defensive lines which was worrying.
A nice breakout from Everton needed a better pass into the middle from Gueye. Seconds later, Pedro drove forward and his shot was blocked by Tarkowski. Chelsea’s first corner was nicely cleared by O’Brien. There was absolute mayhem in the box until Pickford got hold of it.
Everton finally broke the deadlock when James Garner slid a lovely ball into the path of a marauding Beto who was able to tip the ball past a charging Sanchez. The lead was well deserved as Beto recorded his fifth goal of the season.
Cole Palmer drove forward and when Fernandez got the ball just six yards out, Pickford made another incredible save to add to his save of the season collection! Chelsea had come to life and were pinging the ball into the box from all sides. Everton pushed back and then pushed forward. Each time it was the final ball that negated a series of chances.
Two minutes of additional time saw Chelsea try and keep the ball but their play lacked any cutting edge. Everton were collapsing back but they were repelling the efforts. Sam Barratt blew his whistle and sent the players for a cup of tea.
Garnacho was brought on in place of Gusto as Everton kicked off the second half with another rugby lob into the box which created havoc for Fofana but he was able to get it back to Sanchez. The introduction of Garnacho meant a tactical reshuffle for Chelsea. A lovely ball into Beto needed a clearance by Hato. The resulting corner was delivered by McNeil and headed by Keane but Beto was late getting to the header.
Chelsea were getting the ball out to Garnacho but Everton were repelling him. The Toffees were countering and a nice lob into Beto was cut out at the last second by Hato. KDH drew a foul which was lined up by Garner. His delivery saw Sanchez scramble back and was able to keep the ball out of his goal as he hit the post and went down.
Lavia was withdrawn with Andrey Santos coming on for Chelsea. Cucurella fouled O’Brien on the edge of the Chelsea box. Garner and McNeil stood over it and Garner’s ball was caught by Sanchez. Enzo Fernandez delivered another shot goalward but Pickford got his fingertips to the shot which prevented a tap in from Pedro.
Gueye stole the ball from Cucurella and drove forward. When he slipped the ball into Beto, the Portuguese strike blasted the ball between the legs of Robert Sanchez. The Evertonians were in dreamland as Beto took the cheers. The roof of the Hill Dickinson Stadium reverberated with the sounds of “Spirit of the Blues”.
Confidence was surging through the boys in blue as they pressured Chelsea and were happy to pass the ball around. When Pickford drilled a ball forward, it was immediately sent back to Garnacho which ended up on the foot of Fernandez but Pickford didn’t back down and made another top save.
Lee Rosenior makes another change and brings on Estevao for Romeo Lavia. He immediately is in the action as he took a corner which Pickford punched clear. Beto had not slowed down and his holdup play had been much better. His workrate was not being matched by Chelsea and when Pickford raked a pass forward, he flicked the ball onto Ndiaye who went easily past Hato and curled his shot into the far corner for a 3-0 scoreline.
With Everton putting the match to bed, Moyes rang in the changes. McNeil was withdrawn for the returning Branthwaite and Beto was given a rapturous sendoff when he was replaced by Barry. Pickford was using the long clearance with aplomb as KDH received the ball, beat the defender and fired a low shot from a tight angle but Sanchez was able to gather the ball.
Moyes needed fresh legs in the middle and Moyes brought on Merlin Rohl for Ndiaye and Iroegbunam for KDH. Iroegbunam was driven on by the crowd who were in raptures. Some nice quick feet got him into the box but his toe poke was kept out by Sanchez. Everton kept the ball for the dying seconds until the whistle went and the all round display was over.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Beto: Once again, Jordan Pickford made some incredible saves and the Everton backline stood firm, but it was the breakout brace and assist from Beto that won the day. He works hard always and today he was able to finish off his chances. The first goal was a lovely finish, the second was a hard shot that simply overpowered Sanchez and his lovely flick on to Ndiaye was the icing on the cake. His most complete performance in an Everton shirt. Perhaps there is a goal scorer in there after all.
Instant Reaction
Everton took another positive step forward today. Perhaps being up against Chelsea, who had ducked a serious Premier League charge and ended up with just a fine, riled the players and the fans. In the end, Everton dominated and ended the match in 6th place, one point behind Chelsea and three behind the RS. It was also a second win in a row at Hill Dickinson for the first time as Moyes pushes the team towards European qualification. “I never felt more like singing the Blues, when Everton win and Liverpool lose!”
Everton totally dominated the match for the first twenty five minutes but could not capitalise on their dominance. Chelsea got back into the match but the best part was that Everton wrestled the match back and Beto’s goal was their reward. The first half was a more mature performance which we had seen on the road. It was great to see it at the Hill Dickinson. That continued in the second half and rather than sit back as we have done too often, we pushed for the second and third and were rewarded. The media may point to the poor play of Chelsea but let us agree, Everton did not let them into the match.
There were performances all over the pitch today but one thing stuck out for me was the play by Mykolenko and O’Brien. They have been targeted for their lack of forward play but this seems to be improving as Moyes, and most probably Leighton Baines, is working with them incessantly. They have both been solid at the back but the added dimension is giving the attack a more balanced approach.
The other big news for the Toffees was the return of Jarrad Branthwaite. In this stop, start year for the young defender, it was great to see him come on for the last 20 minutes of the match. The team has been solid in his absence but the ability to change things up will be important as we head to the business end of the season. Load management is very important when dealing with a hamstring injury and getting him time on the pitch will be important as he builds up his fitness levels.