Ahead through Mason Mount’s smooth goal, Chelsea should have been capable of seeing it out. Yet carelessness continues to afflict Thomas Tuchel’s side. Their defensive poise has disappeared and their hopes of winning the title are in even further doubt after they gifted Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite a sloppy equaliser. Chelsea, four points below Manchester City, can have no excuses. They could not point to missing four forwards because of Covid. The European champions had enough chances to beat Rafael Benítez’s injury-hit Everton side, who move eight points above the bottom three, but they were not ruthless enough and have conceded nine goals in their last four games. Chelsea were desperate not to leave it as late as they did against Leeds, but this soon turned into a test of patience. Creating chances was not an issue, the problem was taking them. There was an anxiety to them in the final third, wasteful finishing weighing them down, and it was telling that Tuchel had grown frustrated as half-time approached, flinging his arms in the air and bellowing furiously when Marcos Alonso slowed a promising move by checking inside on the left. Tuchel knew that Chelsea should have been out of sight long before the interval. There was no hint of their attack lacking a creative edge despite the absence of several key attackers. Chelsea’s football was inventive from the start, with Hakim Ziyech buzzing with ideas on the left, and the only frustration for Tuchel during the opening exchanges was his team’s failure to punish Everton. Reece James, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic all spurned chances to give Chelsea an early lead. James was the most wasteful, firing wide after being released by Jorginho’s lovely slide-rule pass, but the ease with which Chelsea’s right wing-back rumbled into space must have been a worry for Benítez. Everton, depleted and devoid of ambition, already looked braced for a siege. The visitors were missing a host of important players and Benítez, who was barracked by both sets of supporters, could have been forgiven for feeling sorry for himself as he watched his team strive to quell Chelsea during a torrid opening 20 minutes. Everton soon had 10 men behind the ball and barely any way of moving out of their half. They had the 19-year-old Branthwaite in defence. Their problems in attack, where Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Salomón Rondón, Richarlison, Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend were all unavailable, meant that Benítez had decided to give a debut to Ellis Simms up front. Predictably enough, the young forward was barely allowed a kick before the break. For all Chelsea’s superiority, though, there was a sense of them making life needlessly difficult for themselves. The game had gone ahead despite Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi testing positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday – Kai Havertz was awaiting a test result and was not risked, while Mateo Kovacic’s quarantine ends today – and Chelsea found it difficult to take advantage of Everton’s frailties. There was no shortage of chances. Pulisic, who led the line, was denied by Pickford after a lovely run from Ziyech. At times it seemed Everton’s goalkeeper was taking on Chelsea single-handedly. There were good saves to deny James and Ziyech, who also drilled wide from 18 yards, and Pickford’s best moment came when he stuck out his legs to keep Everton level when Antonio Rüdiger released Mount, who should have been more assertive. Everton, who were unable to fill their bench, gradually began to settle down. Abdoulaye Doucouré injected some energy by driving through midfield before being fouled by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was booked, and at the start of the second half there was a sense of Benítez’s plan of containment coming together. Chelsea were starting to run down dead ends. Jonjoe Kenny, playing out of position at right midfield, was helping Everton’s right-back, Mason Holgate, deal with Ziyech. Kenny even had a chance in the 53rd minute, firing over after a rare counterattack. There was more adventure to Everton now, Ben Godfrey breaking forward from left-back to test Édouard Mendy. Chelsea had started to lose their way. Mount went close with a deflected shot, but the chances had dried up. Loftus-Cheek was labouring in central midfield again, while Michael Keane and Branthwaite had Pulisic under control. Tuchel responded, bringing Saúl Ñíguez and Ross Barkley on for Loftus-Cheek and Alonso. With 20 minutes left, Thiago Silva robbed Doucouré and started a counterattack. Barkley, keen to impress against his old team, found James and the wing-back released Mount, who drew Pickford before scoring his fourth goal in as many games. Chelsea’s lead lasted four minutes. The tireless Anthony Gordon delivered a free-kick from the left and Branthwaite peeled away from Saúl before beating Mendy. Pickford denied Silva late on, but Chelsea’s pressure would not yield a reward.