Everton destroys Chelsea 3 - 1 at Goodison Park

Naismith hat-trick destroys Chelsea chance at recovering from a bad start. Chelsea currently trails the leaders by 11 points, making it their worst start to a season since they were a second division club. Continue after the cut

Roberto Martinez's men threatened in the early stages when Romelu Lukaku leapt unmarked inside the box, but he was thwarted by some commanding strength from stand-in Chelsea stopper Asmir Begovic. Home midfielder Muhamed Besic started the encounter promisingly, but he pulled up not long after with a hamstring problem and had to eventually be replaced by Naismith.

Chelsea failed to offer much going forward, and Everton soon made them pay when Naismith linked up with Brendan Galloway to head the defender's cross beyond Begovic after some standout movement in the box. The Toffees sensed that another goal could be in the offing, leaving Seamus Coleman to charge down the flank and whip a ball in for Arouna Kone, who saw his header turned away smartly by a besieged Begovic. The Chelsea stopper could not hold out for much longer, though, as Naismith returned to bag a second with a stunning solo effort into the bottom-left corner from all of 25 yards out.

With the game positioned well in Everton's favour, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic looked to give his side a route back into the game and he did so by converting a world-class strike from range that swerved beyond a helpless Tim Howard in the 36th minute. The visitors' confidence grew after the goal and they dominated the final minutes of the first half, leaving Everton centre-back John Stones to make a telling interception to deny Diego Costa late on. Looking to push on in the second period, Chelsea were continuously frustrated by a resolute home defence, this time as Radamel Falcao was stopped in his tracks by some adroit defending from James McCarthy.

With time running short Jose Mourinho made the play of introducing Willian in the latter stages, but the Brazilian could do little to threaten a well orchestrated Everton back-line. The Toffees launched the perfect trap on Chelsea with just under 10 minutes to play, allowing Ross Barkley to thread into the path of Naismith, who did brilliantly to hold off Kurt Zouma and convert past Begovic for his hat-trick. The Merseyside club sought to turn the screw in the closing stages when Naismith teed up a volley for his fourth, but Begovic reacted well off his line to ensure that the afternoon did not end in more embarrassment for the champions.

Steven Naismith is only the fourth player in the Premier League era to score a hat-trick against Chelsea after Robin van Persie, Nwankwo Kanu (both Arsenal) and Patrik Berger (Liverpool).