Midway through the first half of Chelsea’s bleak draw with Everton on Sunday, Maurizio Sarri stopped sucking his Superking fag-butt to scold his midfield maestro. Like an aggrieved father telling off his first-born son, the Chelsea manager began remonstrating with Jorginho half in fury, half out of hope.

Why couldn’t he take a stranglehold of this game with the same leather grip as the others? Why couldn't he suffocate their opponents with the same passive death by passing which has rendered Sarri the most successful debuting manager in Premier League history?

In response, an already weary looking Jorginho simply opened his arms and shrugged as if to say ‘what more can I do papà?' Because what Marco Silva’s Everton had done so astutely - which no other English side had managed up until that point - was to swamp the Italian midfielder's dominion with a high-press which kneeled at the 26-year-old's feet rather than spreading itself thin in pursuit of Chelsea's back-four.

Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Kepa.jpg Wasn’t asked to do much, especially in the second half but a clean sheet is a clean sheet. PA Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Azpilicueta.JPG Created chances going forward and was as solid as ever defending the attacks from the left wing. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Rudiger.JPG Made some mistakes in the game, gave the ball away too easily and got involved in some poor clashes. Got booked for nonsense argument with Bernard but did well to keep Richarlison at bay. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Luiz.JPG Tried to play balls through the centre of the pitch to the front men. Blocked off Coleman to allow Alonso to run into space off the free kick. Action Images via Reuters Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Alonso.JPG Really threatening from the left wing and hit a spectacular volley that was denied by Pickford. Action Images via Reuters Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Kante.jpg With Jorginho was unable to comfortably play the ball where he wanted but that was down to the pressure put on him by Everton. AP Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Jorginho.JPG Got challenged to the ball frequently by Sigurdsson and came off worse for it. Most of his influence came by playing from his own half. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Kovacic.JPG Tracked back and defended well against Richarlison and played some good balls out wide when switching the play. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Hazard.jpg Turned up the tempo in the second half, firing shots from range and working the ball into the box from the wings and the middle of the pitch. AP Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Willian.JPG Found Alonso with a pitch perfect free kick and combined with Morata and Hazard to create an opening in a solid Everton defence. In the second half who two or three chances to put Chelsea in front but narrowly missed them. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Morata.jpg Sent Willian in behind Digne with a great ball through the defence but wasn’t clinical enough in front of goal. PA Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Pickford.jpg Stopped Alsono’s volley with a diving save to keep things level in the first half and was under serious pressure in the second half but made some stellar saves to keep a clean sheet. PA Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Coleman.JPG Played well down the right and linked up with Walcott and Richarlison in the first half, had a lot of defending to do in the second 45 minutes and did it well. Action Images via Reuters Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Keane.jpg Started a little sloppy but came into his own as the match wore on. Everton directed their set pieces at him, but he couldn’t direct a header towards goal. To come to Stamford and get a point is a good effort. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Mina.jpg Got booked for a challenge on Hazard, it was a strong one and probably deserved a card, but it set the tone for solid defence from Everton. Getty Images Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Digne.JPG Very good. He defended well at left back and created options for Everton on the wing. His delivery from set pieces was accurate and just needed better finishing quality. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Andre-gomes.jpg Looked composed and in control in the mid-field with Gueye they were able to play out from the back with ease. Getty Images Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Gueye.jpg Closed down the Chelsea men and won the ball back in mid-field. With Gomes he manoeuvred the ball forward for Everton. AP Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Walcott.jpg Combined well with Coleman in the first half but had to defend in the second when Everton were under the pump. Getty Images Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Sigurdsson.JPG Asked to limit the influence of Jorginho and was successful in that role. He also played some beautiful passes into the wide men to spread Chelsea’s defence. REUTERS Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Bernard.jpg Missed a great chance in the second half to put Everton in front and from then on Chelsea dominated. Played well in the first half but his miss is unforgivable. PA Chelsea vs Everton player ratings Richarlison.JPG Held the ball up well and caused problems for Chelsea’s defence. Rudiger in particular found the battle tough and it’s honours even for the match. REUTERS

In doing so, Everton crowded the midfield by forming a ten-man two-tier line of defence in contrast to Chelsea’s six, turning the little alleys of space within which Jorginho usually lurks into congested cul-de-sacs.

Richarlison dropped deep from his usual roaming forward role to hassle Jorginho from behind while Gylfi Sigurdsson pressed the linchpin from the front, making more tackles than any other Everton player from his No 10 position, and eventually inciting the Italian's studs-up lunge which should have seen him red carded.

Unlike past Premier League games, there was no time for the Italian to nonchalantly nudge the ball around the base of midfield, take focus of the scene in front of him and wait for the decisive moment as Eden Hazard darted across his lens.

Instead, it was the rather less poetic ponderings of David Luiz who Everton granted such space in exchange for bottle-necking the centre of the pitch. Luiz saw more of the ball on Sunday than any other player, while compared to his 107 passes and 112 touches against Crystal Palace last weekend, Jorginho had just 50 and 60 respectively against Everton.

And by neutralising Jorginho, Everton brought Maurizio Sarri’s Roman Road from defence to attack to a standstill. Without Jorginho’s provision, Hazard had to drop from his usual cavalier role in the final-third and into the heart of midfield to get on the ball and into the game, by which point there were already a hoard of Everton players waiting to hound him.

Only once Sarri altered his formation in the second half, and replaced Jorginho with Cesc Fabregas, was the Belgian able to find time in attacking positions where inevitably Chelsea’s best chances came.

So now Everton have laid the blueprint for lesser sides than Silva’s to follow. Because what is certain is that Jorginho’s role in Sarri’s side can't change. The Italian is a deep-lying playmaker, not a dynamic box-to-box midfielder like Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley or Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Nor is he defensively specialised which is why Jorginho occupies an anchored role in the midfield, leaving N'Golo Kante to scurry round in front like a wild whippet, creating the smokescreen from behind which he can govern the game - an immediate swap of Kante's position made upon Sarri's arrival, initially scoffed but now proven a necessity.

David Luiz made more passes and had more possession than any other player (Getty)

When that shelter is breached, opponents can counterpoise Chelsea’s two best players for large parts of the game. Because each time Jorginho's metronomic passing and puppet-string pull over the pitch are constrained, the likelihood of Hazard procuring a match-winning moment is lessened too. Opponents able to see the Belgian’s sparks of skill and acute swivels from afar, rather than being blindsided on their own offside line with his back to them.

Hazard is the shot of Grappa to Sarri’s Chelsea. The aperitif and pallet-cleanser which closes proceedings. Jorginho is the fine wine which flows before, leaving sediment on every sipping move, which when corked like on Sunday leaves the bottom of the glass bare.

Sarri and Jorginho's transition to life in West London felt so seamless up until this week. Intermittent spells at the top of the table, in cahoots with Manchester City and Liverpool to become runaway leaders from the off.