Everton substitute Naismith scores hat-trick to crush defending champions Chelsea 3-1
Chelsea's Radamel Falcao (left) and Diego Costa look dejected after Everton score their third goal at Goodison Park on Saturday
London: Jose Mourinho refused to condemn his Chelsea flops after their Premier League title defence was plunged into turmoil as Steven Naismith's hat-trick gave Everton a 3-1 win on Saturday.
Chelsea's Radamel Falcao (left) and Diego Costa look dejected after Everton score their third goal at Goodison Park on Saturday. Pics/Getty Images
Mourinho's side made a miserable start at Goodison Park as Scotland forward Naismith came off the bench to score twice in the space of five minutes mid-way through the first half.
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Nemanja Matic pulled one back for Chelsea before the interval, but Naismith completed his treble in the closing stages to condemn the Blues — with three defeats and only four points from their five matches — to their worst start to a season since 1988.
It left Chelsea 11 points below leaders Manchester City, but Mourinho claimed he had no complaints about his team's performance and blamed bad luck for their recent woes.
'We're not playing badly'
"I am a champion, the players are the champions, the way they are playing is not as bad as the results, but in every single game things are going against us," Mourinho told BT Sport.
Everton's Steven Naismith celebrates one of his three goals vs Chelsea
Mourinho's mood will have worsened after Man City won 1-0 at Palace courtesy of a last-minute goal by substitute Kelechi Iheanacho. City had earlier lost Sergio Aguero through injury, but prevailed when Nigerian striker Iheanacho poked in the rebound from a Samir Nasri shot to preserve the visitors' 100 per cent record.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to ensure Arsenal didn't pay for their profligacy in a 2-0 win over Stoke at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead in the first half, but the Gunners' fans once again spent most of the afternoon frustrated at wasted opportunities before Giroud struck late on to secure their third victory of the season.
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