EXPRESS
Chelsea manager Graham Potter has called out Kai Havertz after the Germany international appeared to goad Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with his celebration following his penalty against the Toffees on Saturday afternoon. The west London giants dropped two more points at Stamford Bridge as they were held to a 2-2 draw by the Merseysiders.
Joao Felix opened the scoring for the Blues in the early stages of the second half, before Abdoulaye Doucoure equalised after 69 minutes. Chelsea were then awarded a penalty with just under 15 minutes remaining after Reece James had been brought down by James Tarkowski.
Havertz kept his cool from 12 yards as he staggered his run-up before sending Pickford the wrong way. And the striker placed his thumbs to his ears and stuck out his tongue in Pickford’s direction as he wheeled off to celebrate his strike.
“When players score, they have something like an out-of-body experience,” Potter told reporters after the match as he addressed the aftermath of the penalty. “I didn’t score many myself so I wouldn’t know. You should enjoy the celebration, I don’t think you need to involve the opponent. That would be my perspective.”
Everton stayed in the game and claimed a share of the spoils in the 89th minute as Ellis Simms notched his first ever goal for the club. And that result means Chelsea are now 11 points behind fourth-place Tottenham, with their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League dwindling by the day.
“I thought the performance overall was positive,” Potter told Sky Sports. “We did a lot of things really well, scored a couple of goals but ultimately didn’t defend well enough in a couple of actions, which has cost us, and we’re disappointed to drop points.
