The gravitas of Sunday’s 2-0 defeat against relegation battlers Fulham was not lost on Carlo Ancelotti after he was publicly disappointed in his Everton side whilst citing a wider concern about their home form.
The Toffees manager called upon his team to improve their prospects at Goodison Park following the defeat, but he did tether a note on Everton’s encouraging away form in his post-match interview, which was shared by the club’s official Twitter channel.
🗣 | "We have to do better at home. Our form away is really good; at home, it's not good enough."@MrAncelotti's #EVEFUL reaction… pic.twitter.com/gBJvg8L5hw
— Everton (@Everton) February 14, 2021
Everton have the fourth-best away record in the Premier League, with 23 of their 37 points coming on the road from seven wins in 11 trips (Transfermarkt). However, just four teams have collected fewer than their 14 points at home, with two wins from their last nine in the league at Goodison Park.
Ancelotti came under fire for some curious decision-making from a tactical standpoint. For one, the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin instead saw Gylfi Sigurdsson deployed at centre-forward out of his natural position, despite the availability of Josh King.
Late on in the second half, the Norwegian featured as a substitute, but the change was too limited to make a decisive impact. Indeed, King had beaten Alphonse Areola at one point, but he was adjudged to have strayed offside following a superb cross from Andre Gomes.
Setting up with a false nine did little in the way of adding to Everton’s incisiveness, and a defensive failure to adequately clear their lines aided Fulham’s Josh Maja in scoring two simple tap-ins into an empty net.
These Toffees took to Twitter to voice their fury with Everton’s tactical approach, calling into question the overall integrity of the team’s performance…
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Dock there wages.. they don’t deserve to be paid after that. (@seann1878)
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Carlo you need to get a grip on the defensive midfielders and teach them that they also have… https://t.co/dUKruUWmC2 (@DixieBlue1878)
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Awful tonight Carlo. No excuses, this isn’t the form of a team serious about challenging for Europe (@gibbo59921397)
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Can someone ask him way he played 5 midfielders please? (@Williams16Dan)
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Not one to have to be negative towards @MrAncelotti but team selection tonight was poor. No… https://t.co/dgOEnsljxw (@BobbyAurora2)
Twitter: @Everton @MrAncelotti Too much tinkering every game in defence. Unsettles the team. (@LuvEvertonForum)
