Burnley (h)
Dream on dreamer!Sidibe ahead of Coleman and Tom Davies back on the bench. Big managers make big decisions.. Who are we to question Don Carlo?!!
Wonderful welcome for the manager before kick off, a stark difference from the tepid reception Marco Silva had, this was a welcome cheered as loud as a goal. Welcome to the best club in the world Carlo, give us something to cheer for and sing about and you’ll be loved. Win us a trophy or a title and we’ll sing your name forever!
So five minutes in and Mina has had to clear one from under the bar, Burnley playing like Burnley, boot the ball as high as you can in the air, as far as you can and see what drops. It really is as industrial as it can be. Just horrible. Any team containing Phil Bardsley should come with not only a health warning, but also a reduced ticket price.
Sidibe ahead of Coleman was immense, for another game where players have had to play out of position, he was all action, attack and defence. If it’s £12m to make the deal permanent, it’s as clear as Arteta was for £2.5m and Pienaar was for £4.5m. He fits what we want and what we expect. Ancelotti always has had progressive fullbacks and we have two fantastic ones at present.
One of the biggest misses of Everton’s play this season has been the inability to play through the middle, there were early signs that Ancelotti likes the build up through the middle and then a quick release wide. Delph had his best game for us today, linking the back four to the forwards, short precise passes with an occasional long diagonal, just neat and tidy. Sigurdsson playing his Iceland role, far deeper and disciplined was quite a breath of fresh air in the first half. Although not threading killer passes, he marauded around the midfield, he nullified the awful Westwood & Jack Cork. 3 fantastic deliveries from free kicks, no reward. Best game in a long time because he knew what his role was, and what he had to do.
One of the benefits about playing a little more centrally was Bernard stepping inside from the left, he was pivotal to the majority of the Everton’s good moments in the first half. 0-0 Halftime, 75% possession..
Second half started the same as the first with Burnley on the attack. Chris Wood had a chance in the first half, he was quiet today, the usual nemesis of Everton, Ashley Barnes was benched, truthfully to see him there and Hendrick suspended was a blessing today. Both have done massive damage to Everton in the past, today was about the result, any and all good fortune was welcome today.
The clear intent to win the game was all Everton’s, Richarlison with direct running, just missing the final pass, Digne playing left wing and Mina walking the ball passed the halfway line. A month ago, this game would be lost by now, irretrievable from the point that 4-2-3-1 would have become 4-2-4 and we’d have been overrun or countered. The core beliefs and more importantly required standards reintroduced by Duncan Ferguson has righted quite a few wrongs in the last month. Ultimately it’s shameful that it came to this, but somehow it seems that Silva’s dismissal has maybe allowed the stars to align for Everton for the first time in a generation.
Back to the marauding Gylfi, and his excellent closing down on the touchline freed Sidibe and his first time cross was met by an Andy Gray like DCL and the diving header was angled passed Pope, off the inside of the post and across the inside of the goal. Picture book moment to start Ancelotti’s chapter in Everton history, along with a Moise Kean cameo that saw him celebrating DCL’s goal with full investment. 1-0!!!
From there the game was seen out, so very often it’s the less adventurous teams that we cannot breakdown, or we lose or draw the game due nerves and poor in-game management. Such an improvement has been made since the derby.
The flag in the lower Gwladys before kick off had an image of our manager, along with our motto. Only the best is good enough, and now we have one of the best. A win, a clean sheet, a different style of play and the chance to dream again.
Forza Don Carlo’s L4 Azzurri’s
By Matthew Barry
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