Everton 3-0 Chelsea, Player Ratings: It just keeps getting worse

Goodison Park, Saturday — Everton recorded their greatest margin of victory over Chelsea in the Premier League era, dismantling the visitors 3-0 in a contest that was effectively over inside the opening 20 minutes. The result extends Chelsea’s wretched run to three three-goal defeats in their last four matches, a sequence in which they have shipped 12 goals and offered precious little resistance.

Head coach Enzo Maresca did not mince words afterward, stating bluntly that “the team gave up” once the third goal was conceded. From that moment on, Everton were allowed to stroll through the gears while Chelsea, according to Maresca, “showed no desire” and were found wanting in “just about every aspect of the game — attack, defense, planning, focus, strategy, execution.”

The statistics underline the scale of the collapse. Chelsea have now suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats and have registered three Hall of Shame entries in a fortnight. Their last two away fixtures — the 4-0 capitulation at Manchester City and today’s 3-0 surrender — amount to 180 minutes of football lost by a combined 8-0 scoreline.

Eighteen-year-old Estêvão was the solitary bright spot, the only player credited with “any fight” by the travelling support. The rest of the squad earned ratings that hovered between bad and abysmal. BAD (3.5-4.4): Lavia 4.0, Hato 3.9, Palmer 3.8, Cucurella 3.7, João Pedro 3.6, Enzo 3.5. TERRIBLE (2.5-3.4): Caicedo 3.4, Santos 3.4, Tosin 3.3, Gusto 3.2, Neto 3.1, Garnacho 3.1, Delap 3.0.

The loss matches some of the lowest moments of the modern era at Stamford Bridge, rivaling the 5-0 drubbing by Arsenal and creeping dangerously close to the infamous 6-0 defeat at the Etihad in 2018-19. With March only just begun and a crowded fixture list ahead, Chelsea still have ample opportunity to plumb new depths — a prospect that no longer feels unthinkable.

For Everton and manager Liam Rosenior, the afternoon was a statement of intent: a first win of this magnitude over Chelsea in the top flight and a reminder that, on their day, they can expose any side lacking application. For Chelsea, it is another stark reminder that the rebuild remains painfully incomplete.

Everton 3-0 Chelsea: the nightmare continues, and the only question now is how much lower the standards can fall before season’s end.