Everton 1 Chelsea 1: ONLY ONE convincing answer to the Fernando Torres question was to be found at Goodison Park. Carlo Ancelotti would only discuss Chelsea's fortuitous draw while his team showed that if it is trophies Torres craves, Stamford Bridge may not be the guaranteed source it once was. Amid Saturday's ordinariness, however, was the reason Roman Abramovich must acquire something special.
Chelsea were clinical when they had to be against Everton, resilient at critical moments and yet fortunate to escape with a replay and their proud record of almost three years unbeaten in the FA Cup, intact.
It would be hyperbole to claim mediocrity has taken root at the home of the FA Cup holders and Premier League champions, as Bolton could have testified only five days earlier, but Chelsea are Double winners minus the swagger, the authority and the vibrancy that mantle should entail.
Goodison Park was vexed more by the visit of West Ham a week previously. “It was a different game with it being the FA Cup,” said Ancelotti, as he denied this performance was a step backwards from the 4-0 victory at Bolton and in keeping with a team who only recently emerged from their worst league run in 15 years.
“There is a different atmosphere and Everton tried everything to win this game and to avoid the replay. It was difficult but the result was good for us.”
Everton were greatly improved on the previous Saturday’s display against West Ham – facing the better sides they usually are – but Chelsea’s need for a Torres-type figure was apparent, whichever way their performance fluctuated. In an uneventful first half when they held the edge – their probing passes behind the home defence would have been made for the Spain international.
With Florent Malouda’s influence fading, they needed someone to relieve the pressure with pace and destructive talent, and the thought of the striker from across Stanley Park resurfaced. Fortunately Ancelotti had two players, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou, able to conjure an equaliser with Everton comfortably in the ascendancy, but the champions looked tired and pedestrian.
“It is not true that the squad is too old,” said Ancelotti. “We had a very difficult moment, this is true, but then we were without John Terry for one month, without (Frank) Lampard, without (Michael) Essien and without (Didier) Drogba so it was very difficult to maintain a good level of football without those players.
Attack is not the only department in need of refurbishment, as the pursuit of the Benfica defender David Luiz confirms.
Chelsea were tormented when Everton brought urgency to their game in the second half and Louis Saha, for the second year running at Goodison, proved too much for Terry’s concentration and composure.
Selling the former England captain a dummy as they tracked a corner from the exemplary Leighton Baines, Saha stepped back and headed Everton into a deserved lead.
Seamus Coleman was denied a second when first Petr Cech then Essien thwarted the young Irishman’s header and follow-up. Within seconds Kalou earned Chelsea a reprieve with his equaliser.
“I still think Chelsea are a great side,” said Saha. “Every side now is getting stronger; I think this Everton team is stronger than previous ones. You look at the likes of Stoke with big players now, so it’s really, really tough. Clubs need to invest big money to get the top players.”
Torres, the Frenchman believes, is the investment that would propel Chelsea back into the title race and enhance Abramovich’s prospects of finally landing the European Cup this season. “Having Torres would put a lot of pressure on all the teams. They would definitely be a big threat to United and Arsenal,” Saha added.
“I think Drogba and Anelka are both big players and as a striker you all like competition and to show you are good enough to play. So I think it would be a big boost, having that competition. ”
