Former Steve Nicol has torn into Chelsea’s lacklustre display following their crushing 3-0 defeat to Everton in the Premier League, describing the performance as completely devoid of intent.
The Blues slumped to their fourth straight defeat in all competitions after a dominant showing by Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Striker Beto opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before doubling the lead shortly after the hour mark. Iliman Ndiaye then capped off an impressive performance with a stunning strike in the 76th minute to seal all three points.
Reacting on ESPN FC, Nicol questioned Chelsea’s commitment, insisting the players showed no urgency or desire throughout the encounter.
“At no point did they seem engaged,” Nicol said. “There was nothing to take pride in. Sometimes you can lose and still feel unlucky—but this was nothing like that.”
The former Liverpool defender, who won multiple league titles during his playing career, did not hold back in his assessment, branding every aspect of Chelsea’s performance as “dreadful.”
“My biggest concern is the complete lack of ambition,” he added. “They went from the first minute to almost the 90th just accepting the situation.
Everton wanted it more Chelsea showed none of that hunger.”
Despite enjoying 64 percent possession and completing 617 passes at an 89 percent accuracy rate, Chelsea failed to make their dominance count, registering just four shots on target compared to Everton’s nine.
The London side also squandered two clear-cut chances against the team managed by David Moyes.
Chelsea remain sixth in the table with 48 points from 31 matches, sitting just two points above Everton as pressure continues to mount following their recent dip in form.