Tottenham win shows mentality shift at Everton

12/09/23 2295

On Wednesday night, we witnessed one of the most entertaining and extraordinary FA Cup ties of recent seasons, as Everton recorded a 5-4 extra-time win over Tottenham in the fifth round of the famous old competition.

The two head coaches fielded strong teams, as both teams were desperate to end long trophy droughts. The game was a rollercoaster ride for fans of the two teams, as the game lurched from one team's advantage to others.

Everton eventually won the game 5-4 through a superbly struck volley by Brazilian substitute Bernard. That goal came after star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin limped off with a hamstring injury in the 55th minute.

The injury meant Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti having to readjust his team with no attacking players on his bench. In past seasons, that sort of blow may well have sunk the Toffees.

However, under Ancelotti, they seem to have a far stronger mentality. It is easy to forget they beat one of their closest rivals in the Premier League without the likes of Allan, Andre Gomes and James Rodriguez, with the trio missing out through injury.

New signing Josh King was also cup-tied, so he couldn’t even feature as a replacement for Calvin-Lewin.

The victory showed that the Everton head coach still has the ability to superbly man-manage players, as for a second difficult game in a week the Merseysider’s stuck at their task and came away with a reward.

There is a feeling that Everton under Carlo Ancelotti are a different animal. The pair seem to fit right. The Italian appears to love life on Merseyside and at the sleeping giant.

Maybe the former Real Madrid coach is the manager who finally finds the right noise to wake the giants up.

All the signs are positive for Ancelotti and his Everton team. People may just look back at the win over Tottenham as an example of what Everton is about under their wily head coach.