Tarkowski makes honest Everton admission after Chelsea defeat

James Tarkowski admitted Everton knew how Chelsea would try to hurt them but failed to deal with it in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at the Hill Dickinson.

Pedro Neto scored twice after the interval to end Everton’s unbeaten Premier League start, with his opening goal arriving less than a minute after the restart. Tarkowski felt the frustration was heightened by Everton having prepared for Chelsea’s threat from wide areas.

“We knew the way they were going to get wide and pull the ball back a lot,” Tarkowski told evertontv. “In the first half, we dealt with that well.”

Tarkowski admits Everton were punished

That changed almost immediately after the interval. Jorrel Hato advanced down Chelsea’s left before delivering into the area, where Neto converted to put the visitors ahead.

“We didn’t manage to do that [for the first goal],” Tarkowski said. “We didn’t manage to get numbers back in the box – and we got punished for it.”

Everton remained within one goal until the closing stages before Neto struck again in the 90th minute. Tarkowski felt there was an element of fortune about the second after Everton initially defended a Chelsea free-kick.

“The second goal, it feels a bit fluky at the time – to defend a free-kick so well initially, and then to fall at their lad’s foot,” he said.

The captain’s assessment echoed David Moyes’ frustration after a game in which Everton competed well before the interval but offered too little once they fell behind. They now have to respond away to Arsenal next weekend.

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