For the third time in five matches, Petr Cech is your Man of the Match

As we often saw last season, our stalwart goalkeeper was often voted man of the match in losing efforts and it is no different in this season's first defeat either.  Although it was only by the width of a padded glove that he beat out John Obi Mikel (6.16 vs. 6.15).

It is a bit ironic that in a match where he actually had a decent pass completion & successful distribution percentages, it was his (mis-)throw to Eto'o that started the sequence of hilarity, which ended with the ball in the back of the Chelsea net.  That Cech just stared, transfixed, as the cross fluttered across the front of his goal and onto Jelavic's head (instead of out of play, as Cech was assuming no doubt) only adds insult to injury.

Outside of that one moment - wherein he played backseat driver in the clowncar of individual defensive errors - the goalkeeper brought his standard imperiousness to the proceedings, keeping Everton within reach with clutch second half saves.

Alongside Juan Mata, Mikel made his belated return to the starting lineup and did his usual Mikel things just fine.  He also did some rather un-Mikel things just fine as well.

Leading the team in touches and pass completion (93%) shouldn't be surprising.  Leading the team in tackles won (alongside Ivanovic) and winning as many aerial duels as Terry and Ivanovic on the other hand is not entirely usual.  Launching a shot into Row Z is par for the course.  Dribbling past a defender, slightly less so.  Keeping Ross Barkley quiet for long periods is to expected; letting Barkley get the better of him on a few occasions is not.

All-in-all, a fairly complete day at the office for the man who divides opinions.  I do get the feeling that he would've been rated much higher had Chelsea put away a couple of their chances at the other end.

With five players rated between 5.8-6.0, things get a little congested after the top two and Ivanovic barely gets onto the podium ahead of Eden Hazard.  I think the margin was about 0.02 before rounding.

I'm assuming it's not due to his stellar crossing.

Perhaps it's just a case of being least worst.  Or perhaps it's for this amazing reaction GIF.