John Terry praised his Chelsea teammates for their fighting spirit to earn a 3-3 draw against Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but “doesn’t really care” if his controversial late goal was offside.
The Premier League champions went behind early in the second half when Leighton Baines’ cross was turned into his own net by Terry, with Kevin Mirallas making it 2-0.
Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas then netted within 91 seconds of each other to set up a grandstand finish, though Ramiro Funes Mori thought he had won the game for Everton with a 91st-minute volley.
But Terry made amends for his own goal when he tucked past Tim Howard in the eighth minute of injury time — when seven were originally awarded — though the centre-back appeared to be offside as Everton players protested in vain.
On whether his goal was offside, Terry told Sky Sports: “I’m not sure to be honest, I don’t really care as it was my first this season. It’s an important one as we’re still undefeated since the manager [Guus Hiddink] has come in.
“To keep that little momentum, ideally we needed three points, we’re not happy where we are in the league, we need to start winning games but every game’s tough and every opposition seems to be stepping up their game.”
Terry hailed his teammates for working their way back into the game, saying: “[It was] difficult especially after going 2-0 down. A lot of teams would have thrown the towel in, but the fight and the desire from the squad [was] unbelievable to come back, and [we were] unlucky no to win the game I think.
“Both teams were sussing each other out a little bit [in the first half], [then] it opened up slightly with more goals and chances, but it was a tireless effort from the boys.
“I think all we can do at the moment is give everything and I think the fans appreciate that even at 2-0 down, [with] everyone on their feet singing and applauding the players.
“[It was] different class from them, unbelievable desire from the players as well. As I said before, we want to get out of this position we’re in — we will do if we continue that fighting desire.”
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