Steven Naismith’s hat-trick saw Chelsea fall to a second consecutive Premier League defeat as Everton romped to victory at Goodison Park.
Jose Mourinho’s men were left ruing the Scottish forward’s intuitive attacking play as he put the Blues defence to the sword.
But the 28-year-old didn’t even make the starting line-up for Roberto Martinez’s side, making an appearance after nine minutes when Muhamed Besic suffered an injury in the opening exchanges.
And Naismith took full advantage, linking up nicely with George Galloway on the left side before heading home from close range after being left unmarked.
Mourinho’s woes were increased after 22 minutes when the Scot spearheaded an Everton counter-attack - slamming home into the bottom corner with his left foot from 20 yards.
But the Blues were granted an unexpected lift when holding midfielder Nemanja Matic launched a thunderbolt beyond Tim Howard from 35 yards to reduce the deficit nine minutes before half-time.
And although Chelsea had a stronger grasp of the match after the break, they failed to create a clear chance before Naismith wrapped up his third of the game with eight minutes remaining to leave the Blues lingering in 16th.
