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Stage fright: creeps up without warning, at the most inopportune moments. It appears out of nowhere, ruining the prospects for a commanding performance.
Carlo Ancelotti was desperate to crown the anniversary of his first year in charge at Everton with an exhibition to usher in a new era; The urban Italian has been overseeing significant changes and the biggest alteration he wants to make at Goodison Park is to make this huge club winners again.
After three consecutive Premier League victories, in which they toppled Chelsea and Leicester before taking advantage of Arsenal’s unfortunate situation, the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with Manchester United offered the perfect platform to showcase the progress they are making. Everton.
However, what Ancelotti achieved was something maddeningly different. Instead of sitting on the sidelines orchestrating fluid play patterns, Ancelotti was left making a series of gestures that underscored how nerves had gotten the better of his team.
This was a great occasion for Everton, a point underlined by a line in Ancelotti’s program notes in which he told the fans that his main objective is to ‘bring happiness’ to the club and he wanted to ‘celebrate by winning the Carabao Cup’ .
Big occasions, however, bring great nerves and those great nerves betrayed the Everton players. The tone was set in the chaotic first 10 minutes, as United revved Azul’s men at regular intervals and took their breath away.
Yerry Mina was the first to attempt to restore order, yelling ‘calm down’ and gesturing for his teammates to calm down in the 11th minute, but he didn’t listen to his own advice: his next implications saw him go straight to Alex Tuanzebe then kicks the ball out of play.
The Colombian, however, was not alone. Robin Olsen, on goal in place of Jordan Pickford, dropped an easy collection that almost presented an opportunity for Edinson Cavani, while Abdoulaye Doucoure pushed a simple ball for a throw-in.
He reached the stage where Ancelotti was so exasperated that he clasped his hands at one point, almost in prayer, before shaking his fists. This was not the performance of a team that follows orders or has faith in its own ability.
The definition came in the 35th minute when, without pressure, Doucoure opted to pass behind Michael Keane instead of going forward. Ancelotti threw his arms up in the air as the 2,000 Gwladys Street fans groaned in impatience. He could not continue.
Unfortunately, it did. The second period progressed in a similar way. United, for whom Fernandes was absolutely wonderful to watch, dominated possession and Everton resigned themselves to stretching every tendon in a desperate attempt to keep the visitors at bay.
Ancelotti wanted calm, but was frustrated because his defense resorted to quickly taking the balls out of their area without verifying the direction, only finding red jerseys and inviting to pressure themselves. Yet somehow, it looked like they were going to force a penalty shootout.
Not so. With three minutes and three minutes to go, the dam Everton had been protecting exploded when Cavani, another United star, delivered the goal his team deserved before Anthony Martial brought them out of their misery. Ancelotti could only turn and shake his head. It was that kind of night.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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