Everton lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle United.
On the evidence of today’s performance, Everton’s Champions League dreams seem far distant from turning into a reality. Newcastle United came to Goodison Park finding their first win since December 12. A lacklustre display from Everton meant that Steve Bruce’s men were served the win on a silver platter. Callum Wilson‘s double in the second half saw the visitors walk away with a 2-0 win, raising serious doubts over Everton’s ambitions for this season.
Forget Champions League, such an underwhelming performance casts doubts on whether Everton are even top six contendors. Technically, we are only at the halfway point of the season so the Blues from Merseyside have time to turn it around but it is games like these where Everton are expected to win without any hassle, especially when they are contendors for Europe.
Ancelotti reverted back to the preferred 4-2-3-1, to allow more central exposure to James Rodriguez. Carlo Ancelotti tweaked with the team, resting Tom Davies, Mason Holgate, Ben Godfrey and Andre Gomes. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Seamus Coleman and Alex Iwobi made a comeback to the lineup.
Unsurprisingly, Abdoulaye Doucoure also returned after serving a one match suspension. The surprising choice was Sigurdsson alongside the Frenchman in the central midfield. The Iceman hasn’t been very comfortable in such a role which was evident as he found difficulties in nagivating through the Newcastle press.