Farhad Moshiri picked the perfect time to take his seat in the posh(er) seats at Everton as Romelu Lukaku vanquished his old club Chelsea to seal an FA Cup semi-final spot before a raucous Goodison crowd. A 2-0 win underpinned by a tough, defensive performance took on immense significance when Lukaku, signed for £18m yet completely overlooked by Chelsea, turned half his former team inside out and calmly slotted home with his left foot before powering beyond Thibaut Courtois with his right. As Diego Costa did his best to personify the embarrassing limits to Chelsea’s approach, Everton used it to their advantage as they sealed a second cup semi-final of the season.
For all the buzz around Moshiri’s appearance and the now routine comparative preamble that proceeds Lukaku coming into Chelsea orbit, talk all week had centred around Martinez. For a game dubbed the biggest of his Everton career by some, this was an excellent response from the Spaniard. What appeared bold perhaps foolish adherence to his principles – a familiar 4-2-3-1 with Leighton Baines and Tom Cleverley recalled – in fact demonstrated Martinez’s ability to adapt to a more pragmatic approach. A game that was all set for the grizzly pack hounds of Chelsea to hunt down and expose hesitant, susceptible Everton became the precise opposite.
For the first 20 minutes, the Toffees surrounded their opponents. Aaron Lennon racked up the interceptions as he denied Kenedy or Pedro any time or space, whilst Seamus Coleman’s crunching tackle on the latter gave James McCarthy and Tom Cleverley’s dogged perseverance credible threat. Two wise interventions from Gareth Barry however were vital in setting the tone. First Barry swiped Costa’s ankle, before taking advantage of the Spaniard’s poor control to claim the ball and present himself as a target. Sure enough, petulant Costa leapt at Barry and caught his face. A yellow card 10 minutes in: a persecution complex set in motion, and a fatal disadvantage when the two locked horns decisively late on.
No more Mr. Nice Guy
Bravely, Martinez sent Everton out to beat Chelsea at their own game, to harass, provoke and stifle them, to bend the game to their will however they could. It worked perfectly. Whilst Costa will naturally be scapegoated for his pantomime aggression, yard-out, tight-angled miss and late dismissal (somehow his first for Chelsea), the success of Everton’s defensive approach was borne out in the ineffectiveness of Willian (first change after 73 minutes) and the erratic scuttling of Pedro. 57% of possession for Guus Hiddink’s men yielded only a single shot on target. Chelsea had the best of for large parts of the second half, but were simply knocked for six when the deadlock was broken, and you could hardly blame them. Lukaku didn’t just score against his negligent former employers, he taunted them with a full display of his blossoming talent.
After demanding the ball from Barkley, the Belgian overpowered and bamboozled four defenders, combining power and finesse adeptly enough to craft a simple chance from what was barely a position to cross. His second five minutes later – a powerful low drive having again been freed by Barkley – was his 25th of the season. There was no way back. With Costa dismissed for psychotic weirdness after confronting, half-biting then hugging Barry, the Everton man tripped Cesc Fabregas and followed his foe down the tunnel, presumably to continue scrapping. Michael Oliver handled the flare-ups sensibly which made his decision to allow Kenedy six or seven punished indiscretions harder to fathom. To address the balance, McCarthy kicked substitute John Terry firmly in the face in a truly wonderful accident.
Such is the increased pressure on Martinez following a second disastrous league campaign, victory here may only extend his stay of his execution. He is likely then to find solace in judgement day occurring at Wembley, the site of greatest accomplishment to date. Moreover, he will be immensely pleased with his side. Everton didn’t give off the slightest whiff of unrest, just the opposite in fact, as they altered their game-plan and bullied their opponents. A clean sheet and match-winning combinations from Barkley and Lukaku (both set on their way by Barry, mind) to back-up focused, co-ordinated defending is an approach Martinez must make the rule rather than the exception if he is to convince Evertonians, and indeed Mr. Moshiri he’s the man to lead the club. To that end, two more wins in a competition in which Everton are yet to concede a goal would represent a tremendous boost to his chances.
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By Chris Smith
Follow me on Twitter @cdsmith789
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