Chelsea spurned the chance to claim top spot as Steven Naismith’s first-half header earned Everton a 1-0 victory on Saturday which condemned Jose Mourinho to his first Premier League defeat since returning to England.
Naismith, celebrating his 27th birthday, struck on the stroke of half-time as Everton gave new boss Roberto Martinez his first victory in the league since replacing David Moyes.
Everton remain unbeaten and, on this evidence, look capable of continuing the progress they made under Moyes which persuaded Manchester United to make the Scot their new manager.
This was, however, a disappointing setback for Chelsea ahead of the start of their Champions League campaign as Mourinho discovered there remains work to be done if he is to mark his first year back at Stamford Bridge with another title.
There were contrasting debuts for Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o, who joined on a one-year deal from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, and Everton’s Gareth Barry, signed on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
Eto’o was denied what looked a certain debut goal by Barry’s stunning last-ditch tackle in an incident which summed up a contrasting 90 minutes for the duo.
The Cameroon international required just five minutes to get his first sight of goal but his usually-reliable predatory instincts deserted him when he rose unmarked inside the penalty area to meet Ramires’ pinpoint delivery only to head wide.