Steven Naismith is entering his fourth year at the Toffees when he is having arguably the best season of his career.
Everton’s start to the 2015/16 season was mediocre, with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the first five games in all competitions.
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Next up is Everton’s third home match of the season against champions Chelsea, with the Toffees still looking for their first win at Goodison Park.
Evertonians entered the pitch filled with optimism after Chelsea’s title defense got off to a poor start.
Naismith was not in the starting line-up but Mobecic’s injury after just nine minutes gave the Scotland international the chance to leave his mark on the game, which he certainly did.
Phil Jagielka did well to win the ball back from Diego Costa in his own penalty area as the Blues set up one of their typical Roberto Martinez pass-heavy attacks.
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Naismith received the ball in the middle of the Chelsea penalty area and passed it to Brenden Gallaway on the left. The left back sent in a beautiful cross and Naismith headed home from close range.
Naismith scored the winning goal against Chelsea two years ago and scored again against a team that was quickly becoming a favorite.
The former Rangers striker soon put the Toffees up 2-0. Five minutes after his header, a fine left-footed shot evaded Asmir Begovic’s save and slotted into the far corner. After good work from Romelu Lukaku and Aruna Koné on the right, the ball found its way to Ross Barkley, who passed it to Naismith. He took one touch to steady himself before firing the ball into the bottom right corner.
Chelsea pulled a goal back before the break, unnerving the crowd but they needn’t have worried. Excellent work from Aaron Lennon and Barkley on Chelsea’s left in the second half allowed the England midfielder to play the ball through to Naismith.
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The hat-trick Scot faced a tight angle as he raced towards the Chelsea goal. But that didn’t stop him from shooting with his right foot this time, completing a perfect hat-trick and scoring all three points for Everton.
What a performance from Naismith, especially after coming off the bench early on. The Scotland forward became the sixth player in the Premier League to score a hat-trick as a substitute and the fifth player to do so against Chelsea.
This will be Naismith’s final season at the Toffees before joining Norwich City in January. The Scot played just 10 league games that season, with all three of his goals coming on that famous day against Chelsea.
Although he never became a prolific scorer during his time at Everton (18 goals in 103 league games), Naismith is fondly remembered by Evertonians. No one will forget that performance against Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2015.