Graham Potter gives verdict on two controversial moments in Chelsea’s draw against Everton

Everton earned a 2-2 draw against Chelsea to move two points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
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Graham Potter told of his disappointment after Chelsea threw away three points against Everton.

The Toffees battled back from behind twice in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. A Joao Felix strike and a Kai Havertz penalty put Chelsea ahead on two occasions but Everton displayed superb grit. Abdoulaye Docuoure first responded for the visitors before Ellis Simms’s 89th-minute strike off the bench yielded a precious point to move Sean Dyche’s men two points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

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The stalemate put paid to a three-match winning streak for Chelsea and Potter felt that his side did not defend well enough.

The Blues head coach said: “We’re really disappointed because we’ve dropped two points at home. We wanted to win and you saw the intention of the team. There were a lot of positive things in the performance but ultimately we’ve not defended well enough and to concede two goals, it’s not easy to win the game. That’s the disappointing thing for us.”

“You have to credit Everton, they do what they do well. They use their physicality, they use the set-pieces, they ask you questions. For most of the game, we controlled fairly well, as much as you can at his level. But ultimately the first goal is really disappointing as it’s from a set-piece; we spoke about that before the game.”

Felix was incensed in the first half when he was hauled to the ground by James Tarkowski off the ball. The Everton defender escaped punishment.

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Asked about the incident and if Felix - on loan from Atletico Madrid - will have to get used to the rough nature of the Premier League, Potter said: “Joao played a really good game. I thought he mixed his game well: he ran behind, linked up, dropped in, combined well with Kai, Christian [Pulisic], Enzo [Fernandez] and Kova [Mateo Kovacic]. I’m really happy with his performance. In the Premier League, you expect physicality. It’s up to the referee to see all the incidents. We’re happy with Joao and how he affected the game. He is adapting and learning all the time. It’s positive for us.”

Pressed on whether he spotted the incident live, Potter replied: “I didn’t see it live, but I’ve seen it back…” Then followed up on whether it was a red card, Potter responded: “I’m not sure – and I’m not the referee.”

After Havertz scored a penalty to put Chelsea 2-1 ahead in the 76th minute, he appeared to aim his celebration at Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Potter did not condone the behaviour of the Germany international. He said: “I’m not sure. When players score, they have something like an out-of-body experience. I didn’t score many myself so I wouldn’t know. You should enjoy the celebration, I don’t think you need to involve the opponent. That would be my perspective.”