Chelsea 3-3 Everton: Terry grabs 98th-minute equaliser in astonishing finish

Posted Sunday, January 17, 2016 by Goal.com

The captain converted a brilliant flick - from an offside position - after Ramiro Funes Mori appeared to have won it for the Toffees with a goal in the last minute of normal time

John Terry's 98th-minute equaliser rescued a point for Chelsea and capped a thrilling and controversial finish to their 3-3 draw against Everton.

Ramiro Funes Mori had put Everton ahead in the 90th minute after the Toffees had blown a two-goal lead but Terry equalised deep into stoppage time from an offside position to preserve Guus Hiddink's unbeaten start.

The two sides exchanged few chances in the first half but the match burst into life when Terry sent a Leighton Baines cross into his own net shortly after the break.

After Ross Barkley had hit the post, Kevin Mirallas worsened Chelsea's predicament with a sublime second in the 56th minute at the end of another flowing Everton move.

But Diego Costa - who limped off late on - and Cesc Fabregas scored goals two minutes apart in a rousing comeback before Funes Mori's brilliant finish in the final minute of normal time.

Not for the first time this season, Roberto Martinez's side failed to see the game out although they will be angered by the assistant referee's failure to flag Terry offside.

Hiddink replaced Oscar with Nemanja Matic in his only change from Wednesday's 2-2 draw with West Brom, pushing Fabregas into a more advanced midfield role.

The Spaniard slipped the lively Willian in behind the Everton defence with a well-weighted pass after 16 minutes but the Brazilian's powerful strike was deflected over by Howard.

Everton threatened on the break but it was not until five minutes before the interval that Martinez's side tested Courtois, who had to dive low to his left to keep Mirallas' effort out of the bottom-left corner.

The hosts started the second half strongly but fell behind when Baines' cross caught Terry out and the Chelsea captain inadvertently sent the ball into his own net.

Barkley came close to doubling Everton's advantage when his near-post effort crashed off the upright before Mirallas expertly controlled another Baines cross and lashed the bouncing ball past Courtois.

Chelsea's response was brilliant, however, and by the 66th minute they had restored parity with two goals in quick succession.

First, Costa capitalised on some defensive indecision to latch on to a long Fabregas pass between the Phil Jagielka and Howard before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing into the empty net.

The striker then returned the favour for Fabregas, producing a clever backheel to find his compatriot, whose deflected shot from the edge of the area snuck inside the near post.

Everton looked to have found the winner in the final minute of normal time when Funes Mori hooked Deulofeu's outstanding cross inside the far post.

But Terry latched onto Oscar's header inside the box to score a sensational equaliser with 98 minutes on the clock despite calls for offside.