Diego Costa scored Chelsea’s third goal of a dominant first half against Everton. The Blues are now well are on their way to taking the Premier League lead.
Chelsea have been in dominant form of late, and have dominated the first half of their match against Everton, too.
Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso scored Chelsea’s first and second goals of the contest in the space of little over a minute, before Diego Costa added a third in the minutes leading up to halftime.
The goal was as simple as they come: Nemanja Matic flicked on a corner at the near post and Costa found himself unmarked to tap in at the back post.
Diego Costa. 3-0. #PLonNBC https://t.co/XQEMbxv2Z7
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 5, 2016
If the result holds, Chelsea will overtake Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table. Arsenal and Liverpool, who would be in third and fourth place, respectively, could both overtake Chelsea when they play tomorrow.
Either way, the Blues have well truly arrived back in the title race. This would be their fifth league win in a row since manager Antonio Conte switched to playing three at the back. The new formation has liberated his players, and while they haven’t faced any of their rivals for the title, they beat an excellent Southampton team last week and look well on their way to beating another top eight side in Everton.
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The Toffees have had a strange season so far. They’ve looked excellent at times, but a four-match winless run last month saw them slip down the table. They’re still a good bet to finish in one of the Europa League places, but the defensive lapses against Chelsea will be a serious cause for concern for manager Ronald Koeman.
Everton’s back line was a consistent problem under former manager Roberto Martinez, and it looks like Koeman has his work cut out to solve it.