- Chelsea defeats Everton 1-0 at home thanks to a goal in injury time
- The win puts the Blues four points clear of Arsenal atop the Premier League
- Chelsea rebounds after a loss in the FA Cup and draw in the league
(CNN) — After being humbled by Manchester City in the FA Cup and drawing against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, Chelsea could hardly afford to drop points against Everton on Saturday.
The Blues didn’t — barely.
And it was the man who has been dubbed ‘Mr. Chelsea,’ the returning John Terry, who struck deep in injury time following a free kick from another Chelsea veteran, Frank Lampard.
Both were re-introduced to the starting lineup by manager Jose Mourinho against a stubborn Everton side chasing a European spot and the 1-0 victory increased Chelsea’s lead atop the table to four points over Arsenal, which played later.
Vintage Chelsea it wasn’t, but the result was all that mattered to the Chelsea skipper.
“We made it difficult but they are a very good side and are playing well under (Everton manager Roberto) Martinez,” Terry, sidelined the previous three games with a muscle injury, told BT Sport. “It was a tough game today. We’re delighted with the win and three points.”
Martinez wasn’t delighted, though.
He felt the free kick — given when Chelsea midfielder Ramires went down — shouldn’t have been given by referee Lee Probert.
“It was one of those situations where players were trying to buy too many free kicks,” Martinez told BT Sport. “You need a strong referee. The second half is a very, very tough game for referee.
“You can see they are trying to get a dead ball situation because they couldn’t get any joy from open play. You can see the reaction and way he loses his footing, it’s not because of contact. He is looking for the free kick.”
For more than 90 minutes, Everton indeed kept Chelsea at bay.
Everton had the better of play in the first half, with Petr Cech saving from Leon Osman and Kevin Mirallas scuffing his shot when in a good position at the edge of the box.
Chelsea could only go one way — up — and keeper Tim Howard foiled Lampard, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic before Terry’s winner.
“Great ball from Lamps,” said Terry. “I just managed to get a touch on it and I think it came off Howard in the end as well.”
Arsenal and Manchester City, coming off demoralizing 2-0 home defeats to Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the Champions League, respectively, faced Sunderland and Stoke City on Saturday.
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