We could be first after 7 with better tactics and team selection today. A poor Newcastle were there for the taking for a team which was prepared to have a go at them with pace. Stop settling for mediocrity. We should be beating that shower, not looking to be defensive against them. A very Italian approach to today's game which was baffling.
What else could he have done, really?
Gordon? Niels was already making his debut at left back. We needed some experience/nous around him against the likes of Saint-Maximin
Who else? What else could he have done?
As I said earlier;
An Everton team, missing 5 key players in Richarlison, Rodriguez, Digne, Coleman and Holgate.
An Everton team, with Niels making his debut, Kenny thrown in without match fitness - Delph, Gomes, Sigurdsson and co.
An Everton team, when chasing a game, who have to turn to Iwobi, Bernard and Tosun.
Ancelotti took a pragmatic view - most were doom and gloom beforehand and rightly so.
We had more of the ball, we had more shots and if soft arse Gomes didn't put in one of his spaced off his tits games and do his off the ball liability act we'd have been right in that and took a point or maybe even nicked it late on.
Ancelotti has said pretty much the above - the intention given the context of missing half a first team was to go away to Newcastle, keep it tight and look to win it late on. Gomes cost us the game today.
“It’s where we missed today – the little details,” said Ancelotti. “We knew we didn’t have the usual quality up front but I said to my players, ‘Be focused defensively, don’t give a gift as we don’t want to lose'.
“It was not a good performance. The game was in the balance, they opened the scoring, we were a little bit slow in the contact, we gave them a gift in the penalty and after that, the game is changed. As usual, it happened and we woke up later but the performance was not good.
“We knew it would be this sort of game, without a lot of opportunities. Until the penalty, the game was in the balance. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities, Newcastle didn’t have a lot of opportunities - we just needed to continue like this, don't let them have a gift and keep the match balanced and we could open at the end.