'Maybe a billion pound difference?!' - Everton boss David Moyes fires cheeky dig at big-spending Chelsea as Stamford Bridge hoodoo continues

After putting together a fantastic run of results which brought about four wins in six league games, Everton travelled to Chelsea in high spirits at the weekend. Before stepping onto the field in west London, Moyes’ side had recorded impressive victories over Fulham, Manchester United, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, while drawing with Sunderland and suffering a solitary reverse against Newcastle United.

However, in a match which saw in-form midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall forced off with a first-half injury on his return to Stamford Bridge, Everton were then put to the sword by goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto. Moyes’ men created several chances in both halves, with Iliman Ndiaye hitting the post towards the end of the game, but Everton were made to a rue their missed opportunities as they travelled back to Merseyside empty-handed.

While Everton’s recent win at Manchester United saw Moyes secure his first league victory as an opposing manager at Old Trafford, he was unable to snap a similar hoodoo at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. 

The 62-year-old was in charge when Everton defeated Chelsea on their patch in the 2011 FA Cup, though he has never won at the same venue in the league, across spells in charge of the Toffees, Sunderland, and West Ham.

And perhaps in a sign of frustration at the end of the match, Moyes fired a cheeky jibe towards Chelsea’s luxury of being able to spend vast sums of money on new players. Since co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital - led by Behdad Eghbali - completed their takeover of the club in May 2022, the six-time champions have spent £2 billion on transfer fees, according to the BBC.

When asked if Everton's defeat simply came down to fine margins, Moyes said in his post-match press conference: "Maybe a billion-pound difference? Possibly, you know what I mean?"

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Speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day before his dig at Chelsea, Moyes said: "Losing Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] was a blow to us but I thought we adapted quite well. I know we've come away with a disappointing result but it wasn't a disappointing performance. We did a lot of really good things today.

"Maybe we played one of our best games away from home, we've had some very good results away from home. But we couldn't finish it off, we just dropped a couple of runners at times when they showed quality. We pushed them close and that's what we have to try and do. Jack [Grealish] had a great chance to make it one each, then we crossed one right into the goalie's arms, he distributes it quickly and they get the goal from it right on half-time.

"It felt a bit unfair on us because I thought for long periods we did well. I wouldn't say dominated because Chelsea had a lot of the ball as well. We played well, I've no complaints from the players except the final third stuff - if you don't take the chances you don't win the game. We stuck at it, we were never out of the game and were always a threat. We'll go away, look at it and hopefully do better next time."

Meanwhile, Chelsea counterpart Enzo Maresca also raised eyebrows with his post-match comments. The Italian head coach described the build up to his side’s win over Everton as his "worst 48 hours" in charge of the club, citing a lack of support in that time. It is not clear if the former Leicester City boss was talking about owners Boehly and Eghbali, having also said he "loves" Chelsea supporters in the same tirade.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Maresca said: "This is the reason why I praise the players because with so many problems they are doing very well after a complicated week. Since I joined the club the last 48 hours has been the worst 48 hours since I joined the club because many people didn’t support us. So very happy for Malo (Gusto) in that moment that the effort from Malo and the rest showed that they are all there and want to help this club."

Chelsea are back in action when they travel to League One leaders Cardiff City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. Everton, on the other hand, play host to Arsenal in the league next Saturday.