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Pros: Everton has won again, they have done it against two Premier League powers, they added their second duel without conceding goals, they looked balanced again, effective in attack, serious. Cons: winning team is left untouched and that means that James, absent due to injury, could lose his undisputed rank.
The reality is eloquent: there are two victories against two title candidates such as Chelsea and Leicester (1-0 and 0-2) after a five-game bump without a win, several of which had the Columbian as the lynchpin of the attack. Why should it change? Just to open a space for the southpaw? In light of the result, it seems unlikely. But other considerations play.
The first thing to say is that the new model, which some describe as ultra-defensive, is actually very balanced. Returning to the four men at the back, improvising central wing, and betting on a midfield that first fulfills the task of scoring and then the task of leaving, have been the key to what many describe as Ancelotti’s great progress: ” Best of all, they have racked up successive clean sheets, which for some time this season seemed to outpace Ancelotti. It seems to be progress for the whole year. “
The second thing is to recognize that the basis of the entire recovery is that, from the attack to the goalkeeper (who against Leicester was Olsen, against Chelsea Pickfod), there is a vocation for sacrifice that borders on the moving.
“Everton has come out of games with Chelsea and Leicester with a clean sheet, with a level and a type of performance that generates confidence and conviction that Ancelotti is getting used to this squad. That he can, one day, fulfill his promise. He does not have a perfect squad. He has deficiencies and still lacks balance. He is also a private squad of some key players (Digne, Coleman, James and now Allan) but the coach and those at his disposal have found a way. ” states the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
Each qualification, each merit that is recognized in each player is based on how much effort is made to plug the spaces that the adversary may have, which necessarily refers to the criticism of Gabby Agbonlahor in Talk Sports: “He is not offering the team as much as It should, and if Everton had more quality players on the bench, I’m sure James wouldn’t start. ”
In light of the results, it seems that he does have them and, most worryingly, they are taking advantage of the Colombian’s physical problems to give remarkable results in a job that does not flow for the left-hander, it goes wrong when he tries and it has been his big mole in Spain and England in recent years.
And there is the key point, now the lane he must take is illuminated if he wants to get hooked on the winning Everton train again: Ancelotti’s story that he was not signed to do defensive work cannot be believed so literally , because you just won’t be able to adapt to the Premier League if you don’t. No matter the name or the condition, in English football you suffer from minute one to 90 and you run non-stop, you sweat in the same overalls as your tuxedo, the starter fights day by day with sacrifice, there is no option of gentrification.
You have to take advantage of the DT’s total confidence but give him what he has already won with this improvised but deeply effective payroll: discipline. Everton has been able to raise its head against two heavyweights of the Premier because it knew how to implement a game plan with maturity, without committing beginner errors, defending with organization, recovering the ball aggressively and demanding in depth physically, to the point of making Chelsea’s youngsters and Leicester’s fast attackers pale with athleticism.
The next challenge is Arsenal, this Saturday. James is supposed to have returned to training in the week under normal conditions, although Ancelotti has said that he will go with the “day to day”. Every minute is final for the set-up if you don’t want to miss the train. Sigurdsson already warned, with goal and assistance, that he is ready to take advantage of the slightest advantage. As always, it all depends on James.
