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Carlo’s crossroads: how Everton fell short at a vital juncture on Merseyside – opinion

It is fair to say Carlo Ancelotti’s Stamford Bridge homecoming did not go as the Italian would have planned. His side were played off the park by a Chelsea squad which included three 18-year-old’s and Everton had the fewest number of shots in a Premier League match, three, since they played Liverpool in December 2017.

The result leaves Everton 11 points off Sunday’s victors, who occupy fourth spot, and means that despite the Toffees’ resurgence under the former Blues boss, they will almost certainly miss out on Champions League qualification, with the likelihood of qualifying for the Europa League also hanging by a thread.

Up until the weekend, only Manchester City and Liverpool had picked up more points in the Premier League than Everton since Ancelotti took charge. Manchester United have since been added to that list, but the telling stat is that since the Italian was appointed at Goodison Park, Burnley are the only side the Toffees have beaten who are above them in the table.

Meanwhile, Everton have lost to Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, while drawing to the Red Devils. Ancelotti’s lack of ability to overcome the odds and defeat the other sides competing for Europe has cost Everton dearly and left them floundering in the bottom half of the table.

Against Chelsea on Sunday it was obvious where the Italian had gone wrong. Tom Davies and Andre Gomes were overrun by Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Ross Barkley, who played the ball with a much higher tempo. The British trio exploited openings in the centre of the visitor’s 4-4-2 and took full advantage of their extra man. Meanwhile, Everton were not tight enough between the lines to suffocate the opposition and instead left them space to play with. Ancelotti admitted as much after the match by saying Everton “were not compact”, which is why Chelsea were able to dictate play in the manner they did.

As against both Manchester outfits and Arsenal, when the opposition have a distinct advantage in the engine room, it is difficult to exert control over a match. Gilmour is an exceptional talent, but on his first Premier League start, he should have been a target Everton were able to exploit. Instead, he ran proceedings, completing a game-high 80 passes, with an accuracy of 91.3 per cent, as per WhoScored. Everton’s 4-4-2 might allow them to see off opponents below them in the table, but against the best, it leaves them painfully short in midfield.

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