CARLO ANCELOTTI keeps talking his players up. And they keep letting him down.
Or maybe they should simply stop listening to him telling the world that his Toffees can be destined for Champions League football next season.
Dwight McNeil curled in a stunning goal as Burnley shocked Everton 2-1 at Goodison ParkCredit: PA:Press Association
Chris Wood fired Burnley into a surprise lead early onCredit: EPA
Because they are not.
Not when they were taken apart by a Sean Dyche team that had scored only eight Premier League goals all season.
Yet in 14 first half minutes Burnley hit the Gwladys Street end net twice and the post once.
They would also have had a penalty had VAR not been taking a nap when Mason Holgate chicken-winged a clearance of his elbow under pressure from Ben Mee.
Ancelotti is the Italian godfather of Prem managers.
His record in his own country, plus Spain, Germany and in England with Chelsea means he deserves ultimate respect.
Yet Everton’s home record is now worse than ever and he is making the offer that his team continues to refuse.
Surely it is time for him to stop blowing hot air when his team continue to go cold on him.
McNeil found the top corner from distance leaving Pickford with no chanceCredit: Getty – Pool
Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed Everton back into the contest before half-timeCredit: AFP
Seven of their ten league defeats this season have been at Goodison.
You don’t make the top four, far less the Europa League, when you can’t feel safe at home.
Certainly, you don’t even bother getting the passports out.
Not when an opposition supposed to be under pressure to keep its place in the Prem walk all over you. At home.
None of which is to take away from the stunning attacking performance of Sean Dyche’s men.
And in particular from Dwight McNeil who delivered the display that suggested this was a coming of age moment for him.
In the 13th minute the left winger, 21, and on the radar of every top club in Europe, profited from a questionable ambush on Tom Davies by Josh Brownhill.
He did as all good wingers do – whacked the ball into the danger area and Michael Keane delivered a far more questionable clearance straight to the feet of Chris Wood.
Carlo Ancelotti was left dismayed at his side’s performanceCredit: Reuters
It was a huge win for Burnley in their bid to beat the dropCredit: AFP
The striker controlled and then curled his shot beyond Jordan Pickford, the Claret’s top scorer claiming his sixth of the season with a marvellous bender.
Holgate got lucky with that challenge of his right arm but less than two minutes later McNeil was taking a bow.
Johan Berg Gudmundsson flicked the ball into him from the right and while Allan came to challenge McNeil’s trickery left the Brazilian holding midfielder for dead.
Next came the body swerve before he fired into Pickford’s top right hand corner from 20 yards. Poetry.
That 25th minute strike was his seventh Prem goal for Burnley and his first away from home.
Soon after he touched the ball ahead of Gudmundsson who let rip only to see his effort cannon off the foot of Pickford’s right hand post.
The England No 1 suffered for his efforts in trying to get to the strike, landing on his right hip and immediately banging the turf in pain.
By the 43rd minute his efforts to prove that he, and not Nick Pope in the opposite goal, should be playing against Albania on March 25 at the start of the Three Lions’ three – game World Cup qualifying Spring swing.
Tom Davies lost possession as Burnley opened the scoringCredit: EPA
He was replaced by rookie Joao Virginia with Toffees No 2 Robin Olsen currently injured.
In between McNeil’s strike and Pickford’s departure Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Ancelotti’s side back into the game.
He lost James Torkowski to meet Davies hard – driven cross with a hard – hit header.
Yet if anybody has suffered from Everton’s home sickness it is the England striker.
Before that moment he had hit 18 goals for the Toffees plus to for Gareth Southgate’s side.
After two Goodison hat – tricks early in the season the last time he scored a league goal on the blue half of Merseyside was on October 17 in the 2 – 2 draw with Liverpool.
He should have had another when he rose to meet skipper Lucas Digne’s cross but snd his header behind early in the second half.
Pope, particularly with doubts now on his rival Pickford’s availability for late March and England, did his situation no harm with a brilliant parry from Andre Gomes.
Yet Ancelotti’s lofty ambitions could so easily have been further undermined by a scary moment for Joao Virginia in the 69th minute.
The Portuguese, 21, flapped at a cross and collided with defender Ben Godfrey and striker Matej Vydra so nearly made the most of the blunder.
What will have seemed less than a heartbeat later to the young goalkeeper, Ben Mee sent a header onto the bar from a cross by – who else? – McNeil.
The only time in the past 14 seasons they have fared worse at home was their eight losses in 2015-16.
They have also now conceded 22 Prem on their own patch and have managed just eight in their last ten there.
The Euro-hype from Ancelotti is surely at an end.
But for Dyche and the troops who stepped out of the trenches to question that overblown Ancelotti ambition it was another job done.
And well done, in terms of their battle to just stay in the Prem, at that.
Everton secure planning permission for new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
