Elliott Cuff

Fri 5 March 2021 9:56, UK

Carlo Ancelotti claims his Everton side are desperate to follow their ‘dream’ by qualifying for the Champions League this season.

The Blues briefly moved into the top four after they beat West Brom 1-0 at The Hawthorns on Thursday evening, before Chelsea replaced them with a win over Liverpool.

Everton now sit in fifth place in the table, just four points away from Leicester in third with a game in hand still to play.

Following the Toffees’ win against Southampton last weekend, Ancelotti was hesitant to speak on the club’s chances at achieving qualification to Europe’s elite competition this season.

However, now he has conceded that his squad have a ‘great opportunity’ to crack the top four, and claims that his side will fight till the very end to reach their goals.

Speaking after the win against the Baggies, (via Sky Sports) Ancelotti said: “I think we have a great opportunity [to go into the top four] but I don’t know for how long.

“We are in the fight but you need to sacrifice until the end. There’s more pressure because we are in the fight for Europe, we want to be there and we have worked really hard to be there.

“This is our step and it’s our target. We have to step up a bit. There’s more [to] sacrifice because the position now is good but unfortunately it’s not the end of the season.

“I feel really good, if I look at the table I am really happy. We have to be pleased to be there but we know we have to fight. I think at the start of the season no one could say Everton, after 26 games, would be there.

“The dream is the Champions League, it would be fantastic to follow this dream. It’s a step in the career of everyone.”

Dream could yet become reality

We think Carlo is dead on about how no one would have predicted Everton’s current position at the beginning of the season.

Progress was clearly being made under Ancelotti last season, both in the overall attitude of the club and the performances on the pitch, but it looked unlikely that we’d make such a jump so quickly.

Granted, clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham having struggled for consistency this season have helped matters, but Everton have placed themselves perfectly to take advantage of other clubs’ failings.

Now Ancelotti must demand that his players continue to act and perform as they have over these past few weeks. With a game in hand against Aston Villa still to play, the Blues still have every opportunity to make this season count for something.

In other Everton news, Ancelotti has backed Ben Godfrey to receive an England call-up due to his impressive club form this season.