There was no hostile reception for John Terry at Goodison Park but he was to suffer regardless. The Chelsea and former England captain was at fault for both Everton goals as David Moyes celebrated his first ever victory over the London club and Carlo Ancelotti saw his side falter at the Premier League summit. And they could have few complaints.

Louis Saha took advantage of two slips by Terry to condemn Chelsea to their fourth defeat of the season on a night when, apart from a late rally that saw Didier Drogba head against the crossbar, they lacked the swagger, superiority and authority of championship favourites. In was Everton and Moyes, stung by ­criticism of their performance against Liverpool, who played as though they had more to prove.

The hangover from the Merseyside derby defeat had not lifted among the Evertonians, judging by the tame reception for Terry on his first appearance outside the comfort of Stamford Bridge since being stripped of the England captaincy. It was the Everton manager and not his supporters, however, who had felt the impact of the bruising defeat at Anfield more.

A one-match suspension for Steven Pienaar removed much-needed creativity from Moyes’ midfield while the defensive shield and composure of Marouane Fellaini, Everton’s most influential player of late, was also missing as a result of the “elephant’s ankle” – to quote his manager – he received from the Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Fellaini’s absence left Everton with a lightweight central midfield of Leon Osman and Mikel Arteta, making his first start since rupturing a cruciate ligament at Newcastle 12 months ago, and a side of Chelsea’s strength and experience were quick to take advantage.

Frank Lampard gave Everton an early reminder of the danger he offers outside an opponents penalty area – not that they needed one after last season’s FA Cup final winner – when the Chelsea midfielder fired wide following good work by Ashley Cole and Nicolas Anelka. And with their second attack of the night the visitors claimed a merited lead. As was the case at Anfield, Everton’s undoing proved their defending in the air, with Tim Cahill and Phil Neville both caught out by Didier Drogba’s movement as they all chased a straightforward clearance from Petr Cech. Neither Everton player went through with their intent to challenge the Chelsea striker and he flicked a header backwards for Florent Malouda to run unopposed into the area and shoot low under Tim Howard.

Ricardo Carvalho then sent another free header straight at the Everton goalkeeper, this time from a Lampard corner, but just as Goodison began to fear the worst and with their defence appearing increasingly vulnerable, they recovered impressively.

Moyes had issued a deliberate challenge to Saha to up his goal rate before the game, arguably more in response to his lame performance in the derby than the reward of his new two-year contract, and the French striker took the instruction on board to score his third goal in three matches against Chelsea. Landon Donovan swept over a corner from the right that eluded Lampard at the near post and Chelsea’s achilles was exposed yet again, Saha gaining a yard on Terry to send a glancing header into the far corner. This was the 21st league goal that Chelsea had conceded this season and 16 have arrived courtesy of a set-piece. On this occasion Terry rightly accepted he had no one to blame for the lapse but himself.

Everton and Saha’s night should have improved significantly a minute before half-time when Cahill’s incisive pass released Donovan on the edge of the visitors’ penalty area. The USA captain stepped inside Carvalho and had his legs taken by the Portuguese defender’s trailing leg for a clear spot-kick. Saha’s penalty was nowhere near as convincing as his earlier header, however, and Cech parried at a comfortable height to his left.

Ancelotti opted for a two-man attack from the start of the second half, with Malouda tucking in behind in an attempt to regain the midfield superiority that Chelsea had lost before the interval. His increasingly irate reactions on the touchline, as Donovan, Saha and Cahill maintained the pressure on the visiting goal despite his reorganisation, indicated Plan C would soon follow. Michael Ballack was poised to strengthen the Chelsea midfield even before Cole limped off with a foot injury sustained in a 50-50 with Donovan.

Everton continued to pose the greater threat, although a collective Goodison scream for a handball against Terry was correctly ignored when Donovan’s cross struck the defender on the chin. Moyes’s plea for a greater cutting edge was finally answered 15 minutes from time, however, when Terry missed Sylvain Distin’s long ball out of defence and Saha, having controlled beautifully on his chest, swept a fine finish past Cech.

Premier LeagueEvertonChelseaAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk