Carlo Ancelotti has vowed to tell Everton’s players some home truths this week after they surrendered their place in the FA Cup.
Everton lost 5-2 at Anfield on December 4 in the Premier League but this performance was even more impoverished and the 7,900 away fans showed their fury to the players at the final whistle, after a stunning goal from Curtis Jones settled the third round tie.
Ancelotti was an irritated figure throughout the 90 minutes, constantly turning to his coaching staff in bewilderment. He did not go so far as to publicly criticise them but there was no disguising that the Italian felt he had been let down by a starting line-up that had cost £221million.
‘I am not used to speaking to the players after the game but I am going to speak with them,’ said Ancelotti, whose side failed to lay a glove on Liverpool in a one-sided second half. ‘We were not able to keep the right idea on the pitch as we were in the first half.
‘We had the opportunity to score and the fact that we didn’t score affected the performance of the second half. That was not good enough. We lost a lot of energy on the pitch, we lost intensity in our play and we didn’t have opportunities to create chances in front.
‘The line-up of Liverpool didn’t affect our idea of how to play. We knew that Liverpool put in fresh players and that the intensity could be high so I think the defeat arrived because we were not able to keep the intensity in the second half.
‘We lost energy, we lost confidence, we were not able to build up quick from the back and for these reasons, we were not able to keep the same idea as we had in the first half to attack their defensive line. I know we have to work. We’re going to find a solution to improve the team.’
Jurgen Klopp, by contrast, was overjoyed with the youthful exuberance of his team. Liverpool changed nine of their players from the side who beat Sheffield United on Thursday but Jones embodied their swagger. ‘An absolutely sensational goal! I love it,’ said Klopp. ‘There are so many extremely good perks but we should say the goal was absolutely outstanding and scored by an incredible player. I told the boys I have to be proud of them as they were exceptional.’