Sky Sports pundit refuses to allow any Chelsea complaints about disruption before Everton defeat
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Chelsea can have “no excuses” for their defeat to Everton on Sunday (1 May) because what happened the night before is “irrelevant” says Kevin Campbell.
Fireworks were set off outside the visitors hotel to try to disrupt their sleep, ahead of the crucial game that saw a Richarlison goal give the Toffees a 1-0 win.
But Sky Sports pundit Campbell doesn’t think the European champions can have anything to complain about despite looking sluggish at Goodison, as top performances from home players meant Frank Lampard’s side were good value for the win.
Speaking about the fireworks when talking exclusively to Goodison News he said: “That’s not the first time for that to happen, let me tell you. There’s been fire alarms going off and all sorts. That’s an old tactic.
“But listen, there’s no excuses. There are no excuses.
“You’ve got to get in there, and get busy, and you’ve got to try and win a game.
“Once it comes to match time, what happened the night before is irrelevant. You’ve got to go out there and perform.
“I thought Everton just about nicked it to be honest. I thought they were the more aggressive team.
“I know Chelsea have got huge quality but I thought Richarlison and [Jordan] Pickford, there were some real outstanding performances.
“I thought [Anthony] Gordon and [Demarai] Gray worked ever so hard, [Abdoulaye] Doucoure in the midfield was excellent, so yeah I thought Everton deserved that.”
It can’t have been exactly helpful for the Chelsea squad to have been woken up the night before a big game, but it won’t have been the first time it has happened to them.
Were it not for the vociferous atmosphere inside the ground, and the outstanding performance of Pickford above all else, they may have got the result they came for anyway.
Thomas Tuchel refused to complain afterwards, saying the fireworks had “absolutely not” impacted the performance (via Football London), instead focusing on the individual error from Cesar Azpilicueta that Richarlison punished for the goal to take a vital three points.
In other Everton news, the police are set to get involved in one incident from the game that is already threatening to cause the club issues going forward.
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