Ancelotti impressed by one Everton star v West Ham
The 1-1 draw between Everton and West Ham United on Saturday was a match low on quality for much of it, although the Toffees improved after the break.
Carlo Ancelotti obviously gave his players a rocket during the interval, because they played with much more intensity and creativity in the second half.
That wasn’t the only reason for their improvement, though. The Italian also brought on young forward Anthony Gordon at half-time.
The youngster wasn’t perfect, and he skied a decent opportunity moments after coming on, but he gave his team a real lift at the London Stadium.
Ancelotti was certainly impressed by what the 18-year-old offered up in his Premier League debut.
“He did well, he did well,” he said at his post-match press conference, as per the Liverpool Echo.
“He is doing well in training. Of course, this was his first appearance in the Premier League but he showed character, personality, he tried to do things, I am happy with his performance.”
How important can Gordon be moving forward?
Ancelotti’s glowing words certainly suggest that he can play a real part down the stretch this season.
He showed a bit of naivety in his play, as you’d expect, but the energy and work rate that he provided far outweighed that.
We don’t want to get too excited too soon, but with the likes of Theo Walcott and Gylfi Sigurdsson perpetually disappointing in the attacking midfield positions, he has a real chance of featuring fairly regularly moving forward.
In other Everton news, the club have reportedly slapped a £50million+ price tag on an in-form star.