Everton will want to forget the Chelsea game as soon as possible. They capitulated to an excellent Chelsea side and were on the end of an absolute hammering.

The final score of 5-0 was flattering to Chelsea, with goals from Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Marcos Alonso and Pedro. If Costa, David Luiz and Victor Moses had taken their chances it could have been 8-0. Chelsea were superior in every department of the pitch for every minute of the game.

Everton need to banish this game to the history books and move onwards and upwards.

They play Swansea next. To prevent a repeat performance two changes are needed…

Return to a 4-2-3-1 Formation

It was clear from the first minute that Ronald Koeman’s decision to change the formation to a 3-4-3 to match Chelsea was a terrible idea. The team looked unbalanced, lost and incredibly uncomfortable in this new shape.

Ramiro Funes Mori and Phil Jagielka struggled as part of a back three, playing the wide centre back roles. Hazard, Costa and Pedro ran them ragged, while Ross Barkley was deployed as a left sided attacker but looked unhappy out on the wing. He was anonymous throughout and totally ineffective up against Moses.

So Koeman needs to return to the 4-2-3-1 formation which had been so successful for Everton so far this season. Before the Chelsea catastrophe, they had only conceded eight goals all season and were strong defensively. Their solidity at the back was matched with attacking fluency as Yannick Bolasie, Romeu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas and Barkley had all been playing well.

The West Ham game the week before was a hugely impressive performance with Barkley, Bolasie and Lukaku starring in a great Everton win.

Expect to see Koeman reverting back to the formation, which had seen Everton reach sixth place in the Premier League table.

Idrissa Gueye must go straight back into the starting XI

Idrissa Gueye’s absence in the middle of the park was crucial. The midfield of Gareth Barry and Tom Cleverley was simply too slow and ponderous. They lacked energy, guile and any sort of aggressiveness so were totally overrun by the resurgent Nemanja Matic and the brilliant N’Golo Kante.

Gueye’s presence in the midfield may have prevented such dominance. He is an aggressive, dynamic midfielder in a similar mould to Kante, which is why he was suspended after picking up five bookings in the first 10 games of the season.

He can also burst past players, with trickery and quick accelerations like young Portuguese sensation Renato Sanches. This would have enabled Everton to counter attack more quickly when winning the ball in the middle of the pitch.

But he was not present so none of the skills that he brings to Everton’s midfield were present and that harmed both the defensive and offensive aspects of the team.

Luckily for Everton, Gueye will be back for their next league game. His inclusion alone should see an improvement in Everton’s play both in defence and attack.

These two simple changes should see Everton return to the solid outfit they are and prove the Chelsea game was a one off. Swansea should expect a backlash from a very different Everton side to the one that was annihilated against Chelsea.

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