Everton Vs. Chelsea, 2012 Premier League: Toffees Grab Surprising Win

Chelsea have put a serious dent in their chances to finish in the top three, while the race for fourth just got a lot more interesting. The Blues put in a poor performance at Goodison Park on Saturday, as Everton played one of their best games of the season in a 2-0 victory. Unlike some of Chelsea's other upset losses and draws this year, this was not unlucky. The Toffees were the better side, and deserve their win.

On-loan attacking midfielder Steven Pienaar found the opener after just five minutes. Based on the way Everton's played against big teams this season, Andre Villas-Boas likely knew right then and there that he was in for a tough task. Not only were Everton hard to break down for the rest of the half, but they did well to create a few more chances of their own.

The Blues' defense and Petr Cech looked more or less asleep in the 71st minute, when Landon Donovan found Denis Stracqualursi with a through ball. The Argentinian striker finished to make it 2-0, and Chelsea would never get a goal back. The assist was, incredibly, Donovan's third league assist in his short loan spell at Goodison Park.

Villas-Boas would make the odd decision to bring on Romelu Lukaku for Juan Mata in the 78th minute, but Lukaku would find himself on the end of a great chance just a minute later. He almost poked in a short-range goal from a set piece, but Tim Howard did well to get across his goal to Lukaku and make a point-blank save. Chelsea didn't do much to create clear-cut chances throughout the match, and Everton will be thrilled with their performance.