Three key Everton games of 2020
As we get ready to wave goodbye (and good riddance!) to the surreal year that is 2020, we’re looking at some of the highlights and most important moments of the year in what has also proved a big twelve months for Everton Football Club.
2020 started with Everton fans still getting used to the fact that they had Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager. This was such a massive and unexpected coup for the club and gave supporters renewed hope and optimism for the future.
The previous year had finished with the Toffees recording two straight wins under their new boss as they defeated Burnley and then Newcastle United away. Could they keep it going in 2020?
But after those two wins the Blues suffered their first defeat under Ancelotti on New Years Day as they went down 2-1 at defending champions Manchester City.
Everton continued in solid enough form until the first of our three key games of 2020.
Sunday 8 March 2020: Chelsea 4 Everton 0
As the Toffees prepared for the trip to Stamford Bridge, they were quietly confident under their new manager. It seemed that he had steadied the ship, continuing with interim coach Duncan Ferguson’s 4-4-2 formation and although there were a couple of hiccups along the way, generally it seemed to be working well and the players appeared to be responding to him.
Ancelotti was returning to his former club for this game, the only one he had previously managed in England. The Italian had won the Premier League and the FA Cup double in 2009-10 with the west London club so he had fond memories of the Bridge.
Everton however, don’t share that affection for this ground and the Blues have to go back to the early nineties for the last time they had won a league game there.
And this trip wasn’t going to see them end that run as the Toffees slumped to a miserable 4-0 defeat to Frank Lampard’s side. In fact this loss was the joint-worst that Ancelotti has ever suffered as a manager.
This match was a real wake up call and marked the bookend of Ancelotti’s first spell as Blues manager. The manner of the loss as well as the scoreline were a rude reminder of the size of the job that Ancelotti had inherited.
The manager was perhaps a little surprised at how poor this team could be and this defeat again raised serious questions about the ability and character of his squad.
As it turned out, it was the final match the team played before the campaign was suspended, but this sort of performance would be seen again later when the season resumed.