Goodison faithful send Chelsea packing

Hasselbaink had a strange way of showing it and may well pay dearly once Ranieri has studied a loss of self- control that could scarcely be blamed on an unavoidable heat of the moment aberration.

After being tripped by Michael Ball, Hasselbaink sprang to his feet and remonstrated for a few seconds before turning away, seemingly to catch up with the play. It was only then that his right elbow was brought into action in a way that left Ball pole-axed and referee Rob Styles little leeway for leniency.

Hasselbaink refused to comment as he boarded the coach bound for Liverpool Airport, other than to say: 'Just watch on television and you will see it was not all down to me.'

There was little sympathy from Ball, though, as he said: 'He lashed out at me with his elbow and that has to be a red card. There is no question about that.

'I'm just glad I did not end up seriously injured, because I could have been. There was a bit of pushing and shoving, then he caught me on my left eye with his arm.

'Fortunately, it was the relatively soft upper part of his arm. If it had been the elbow, it could have done real damage.

'I expected a physical battle, but he seemed to be getting more and more frustrated.

'Mostly, he was getting frustrated with his own team-mates because he was not getting the service he expected.'

Frustrated or not, Hasselbaink will surely be hit with a club fine, over and above his three-match ban, following a terse response from Ranieri, who would only say: 'It is important to maintain strict discipline on the pitch. We were controlling the game until the sending-off gave Everton the impetus to step up a gear.'

While cock-a-hoop Everton celebrated another notable home triumph with goals from Danny Cadamarteri and Kevin Campbell cancelling out Sam Dalla Bona's opener, Chelsea were left puzzling over a bewildering away record that has yet to yield a win this season.

Ranieri offered little enlightenment, rattling off a few inanities via his interpreter before being whisked away for an early flight home, but Poyet at least gave it some thought as he said: 'No-one can question the quality in the side. We just need a bit of good fortune to set us on our way.

'Everyone in England keeps going on about the number of foreigners in the team and we will no doubt hear it again after losing to an Everton side with just one player from abroad.

'But I don't go along with that. We were all foreigners when we were winning trophies and doing well in Europe a couple of seasons back. Noone was complaining then.'

Ranieri has provided few indications so far that a master plan is taking shape, and relegating Poyet to the bench did little to win over the sceptics. The Uruguay international is one of few foreigners on Chelsea's books with a British-style aversion to losing, and it showed when he went on for the final nine minutes.

He had a toe-to-toe confrontation with David Weir and a wrestling bout with David Unsworth which brought him a yellow card.

He smiled sheepishly as he said: 'I just lost it a bit.'

Everton's campaign is finally gathering momentum after three straight wins, and Ball is desperate to remain part of it after spending most of the last two seasons on the fringes.

'I have not played at centre-back since my YTS days but I will happily carry on there if the manager wants me to,' he said.

'This has to be one of my last chances to impress him and I intend making the most of it.'