Chelsea's Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (centre) celebrates after scoring the opening goal with Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas (left) and Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic during their Premier League clash against Everton at Goodison Park in Liverpool, northwest England, yesterday. (AFP)
AFP/London
Chelsea overpowered Everton 6-3 in a remarkable game yesterday to preserve their 100 percent record in the Premier League, after Manchester City were stunned by Stoke City.
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea led 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2, but Everton kept coming back at them and it was not until Diego Costa made it 6-3 with his second goal in the last minute that the home side finally admitted defeat at an enraptured Goodison Park.
Chelsea were 2-0 up inside three minutes, with Costa tucking away a pass from Cesc Fabregas after only 36 seconds before Ramires teed up Branislav Ivanovic to drill a low shot past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.
But Kevin Mirallas reduced the arrears with a fine header at the stroke of half-time and when Everton right-back Seamus Coleman slid an Eden Hazard cross into his own goal in the 67th minute, it heralded a flurry of five goals in 10 minutes.
Two minutes later Steven Naismith hit back for the hosts to make it 3-2 and although Nemanja Matic then restored the visitors’ two-goal cushion, Samuel Eto’o marked his first Everton appearance since leaving Chelsea by heading home. Ramires gathered a pass from Matic and toed the ball past Howard to make it 5-3, and after Mirallas had hit the post, Costa exploited an error from Everton substitute Muhamed Besic to complete the scoring with a classy finish.
The result left Chelsea as one of only two teams to have won their first three games, along with Swansea City, although Tottenham Hotspur can emulate them with victory over Liverpool today.
Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf scored a memorable solo goal as Stoke condemned defending champions Manchester City to their first defeat of the season with a shock 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
The former Manchester United forward struck in the 58th minute, picking up the ball in his own half and powering past Aleksandar Kolarov and Vincent Kompany before squeezing a shot between the legs of City goalkeeper Joe Hart. It was only the second time City had failed to score at home in 71 league matches and only their second home defeat since May 2013.
“It’s a surprising defeat because we don’t expect to lose against Stoke, but these games sometimes happen,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Swansea finished the day level on nine points with Chelsea after extending their 100 percent record by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium, where Nathan Dyer claimed a brace. Elsewhere, a 45th-minute Charlie Austin strike saw Queens Park Rangers claim their first victory of the season in a 1-0 win over Sunderland, while Morgan Schneiderlin scored twice as Southampton came from behind to win 3-1 at West Ham United.
