Following a late, dramatic equaliser from Chelsea captain John Terry, who backheeled the ball into the back of the net deep into injury time, Guus Hiddink was keen to praise the spirit within the squad to peg back a result.
The Blues found themselves 0-2 at Stamford Bridge before goals from Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, before the late winner in between another Everton goal from Funes Mori, put the current Premier League champions back on level terms.
The West London side continue their unbeaten streak since the departure of Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho, but have only managed to win two points from an available eight in their previous two games – both coming at the Bridge.
Chelsea’s next game is a derby. Hiddink takes his side to come up against Arsene Wenger’s high-flying Arsenal, with this fixture in any competition always a close fought affair.
Speaking to the media after today’s game, Hiddink said:
I’m very happy with the spirit, ambition and attitude,’ said Hiddink. ‘The first half was in the balance, very tactical, but in the second half the speed went up. We conceded two goals and playing against Everton, who are a very good, modern team, you have your feelings. Going 2-0 down was a tremendous setback.
But I was pleased with the attitude to come back to 2-2. We got another setback at the end of the game, 2-3, which made it difficult, but in the last minute we got a goal.
Of course I’m not happy with goals conceded but I’m very happy with the attitude and ambition of the team, and at least we equalised.
Everton are a good team and given the fact we were down it’s a point gained I think.
After Hiddink had finished with the media, it was captain John Terry‘s turn to speak about the game.
I’m not sure to be honest, I don’t really care [about the offside decision] as it was my first this season. It’s an important one as we’re still undefeated since the manager [Guus Hiddink] has come in.
To keep that little momentum, ideally we needed three points, we’re not happy where we are in the league, we need to start winning games but every game’s tough and every opposition seems to be stepping up their game.
