Blues unable to find quality to force their way back into game

DAVID MOYES turned his back on the pitch, looked to the ground and put his hand in his pocket. The disappointment was clear.

- By JOE THOMAS

With minutes to go Everton were pushing for what, for long stretches of this match, had looked an unlikely draw.

Second-half substitutes Carlos Alcaraz and Dwight McNeil combined well in the middle to help Everton launch one final surge forward.

When the ball fell to Abdoulaye Doucoure on the left of the box it looked like one last chance would materialise.

But as the midfielder chopped inside, Pedro Neto was able to nudge the ball backwards and halt his momentum.

Doucoure had time to retrieve the ball and steady himself but his composure deserted him and the cross that followed was only ever going to end up in the arms of Robert Sanchez.

The resignation that ensued was a rare moment of quiet from Moyes.

When he was not trying to coach his players through a game in which they struggled to assert any authority, he was twisting away in frustration - often at the loose first touches that undid Everton's attempts to escape into Chelsea's half or, as has become a familiar theme of his second stint with the club, the bedraggled set-pieces that made it too easy for Sanchez to claim.

This was a poor performance from Moyes' side, one in which the limitations of his squad were laid bare.

So often since his return his side has been greater than the sum of its parts.

Desire and intensity have masked a lack of quality to great effect as Moyes has moved Everton into a position of early safety.