Everton had been in a fine run of form ever since Carlo Ancelotti took charge of the club and after holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw last weekend, they certainly had their tails up.
But they were brought crashing down to the ground as Chelsea beat then 4-0 in the Premier League this Sunday in what ended up being a very humbling return to the Bridge for Carlo Ancelotti.
And speaking after the game, the Everton manager admitted that it’s the nature of the loss which is too hard to swallow and also the fact that their dreams of playing in Europe have been seriously crushed.
The manager admitted: “Everything went wrong. It’s not difficult to judge this game. It was not a good day.
“We didn’t compete. In the other games, we didn’t win, but we competed until the end of the game. Today we didn’t.
“We have to improve of course. Today we were not at the same level of Chelsea, but one week ago we were the same level as Man United. We will see where we are.”
“We think we can compete to fight for Europe over the next season. With this type of performance, we have to forget that.
“Lose 1-0, lose 4-0. Zero points is the same. But I’m more disappointed with the performance.
“It was a bad day for us, but I’m sure this team in the next game can show a different attitude.”
“We cannot judge the team on one game, we have to wait until the end of the season. Then we will see where we are. But this club wants to be competitive in the Premier League and Europe.”
Can Chelsea hold onto their UCL spot though?
After the loss, Everton are winless in their last three league matches while Chelsea have picked up just two wins in their last five outings.
And these unnecessary dropping of points means Manchester United, as well as Wolves, are breathing down their necks right now.
The Blues are somehow holding onto their Champions League spot for now but they are still to play the likes of Sheffield, Liverpool, Man City and Wolves. So there’s every chance that they might ultimately finish out of the top four once the season comes to a close.
Everton though will have very little time to sit and gripe since next week they take on Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby and the preeminent thing that Ancelotti would have to do is to bring back the morale of his players.
