There are few better places to watch the defeat of one of the major English clubs than Goodison Park.

The old stadium seemingly magnifies the noise tenfold, the roar of the crowd growing ever more frantic as Evertonians anticipate a famous victory.

Saturday was just such an evening. Everton, with Ross Barkley outstanding and Leon Osman, Gareth Barry and Steven Naismith to the fore, were excellent. Chelsea, despite an array of chances, looked strangely vulnerable amid the cacophony of noise.

It will be a while before we can question Chelsea’s transition under Jose Mourinho but it is fair to say seven points from four games and a UEFA Super Cup defeat, albeit on penalties, was not the start he would have anticipated.

This does not look like Mourinho’s Chelsea at present. They lack the authority of old, with neither overwhelming strength nor ruthlessness under pressure. They look a team with an identity crisis, caught between the manager’s requirements and the owner’s vision.

‘Artistic football without goals is not good,’ said Mourinho as he listed the litany of chances his team missed, debutant Samuel Eto’o and summer signing Andre Schurrle bearing the brunt of his criticism.

He offered no easy excuses for the slackness in defence and finishing. ‘I don’t think it’s a question of sharpness,’ he said before identifying the lazy ball from Schurrle on 28 minutes and the delay from Eto’o that allowed Barry back to block in front of an open goal after Tim Howard’s mix-up with Sylvain Distin.

‘Perhaps it is not having the killer instinct. If they don’t have it they have to get it but I think they have it.

‘My team are always my team. Winning, losing, playing badly, they are always my responsibility. Later they will have more the identity of the manager and it’s easier to do that after five months than after four weeks.’

Everton - Chelsea 1-0

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