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Just midway through the season, Chelsea already find themselves 16 points behind leaders Manchester City.

The champions have given a meek defence to the Premier League title and Chelsea legend Dennis Wise thinks the Blues would have been stronger if Diego Costa was still present.

Asked why Chelsea have failed to consistently deliver the same level of performance as they did last year, Wise told Sky Sports: “[Diego] Costa – a horrible centre-forward who nicks goals.

“Today you see the three guys [Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian], they want to come out wide and deep. Costa battles and makes defenders make mistakes.

“That’s what Chelsea miss – it might have been different if [Alvaro] Morata played.

“Someone like a Costa might have got them a goal and it would have been a different game. But you’ve got to give Everton credit, it’s not entertaining but it’s against the champions.”