Michael Ball claims European football is in Everton’s hands
Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes the club opened up an opportunity to qualify for Europe following their win against Arsenal last week.
The Blues have been in the race for the European qualifications spots throughout the current Premier League campaign, though five games in the league without a win had threatened to put Europe in jeopardy for Everton.
However with West Ham and Liverpool dropping points in recent weeks, while Everton claimed a lucky victory at the Emirates, the race has once again opened up.
Speaking in his column for the Liverpool Echo, Ball explained that Everton’s chances of qualification are mostly in their own hands now, should they manage to keep up the positive momentum.
Ball said: “We’ve played better in many games this season than we did against Arsenal. You think of the game against Palace or even the Tottenham match, not getting maximum points.
“But the win at the weekend just keeps the door open for Everton.
“It’s mostly in our hands now to try and get these European places. It’s a big win and it’s another one of those hoodoos written off by Carlo Ancelotti, which is great to see.
“The lads will know that the performance wasn’t amazing, but what they’ll be pleased with is the solidity. I’ve said that we can’t make things too easy for the opposition and roll over, and we didn’t.
“Yes it [the win] was fortunate, but you take the three points however they come. We’ve got a smile on our face and everyone’s happy, but we still know we can play better.”
Need to keep pushing
Everton should certainly feel relieved that they were able to ride their luck against Arsenal because it does open up some interesting possibilities as the season winds to a close.
Carlo Ancelotti made some big splashes in the transfer market last season, reuniting with former players Allan and James Rodriguez, and that set Everton up to improve this season.
However, the Italian can’t rely on his reputation alone forever, with European football imperative to continue Everton’s ambition of becoming a competitive team with quality players willing to move to Merseyside.
Beating Arsenal has given the Toffees another chance at securing their place, while results around them in the table have fallen in their favour.
Additionally, Manchester City beat Tottenham in the Carabao Cup final, which should leave an extra space for European qualification through league positioning.
Ancelotti will have a task on his hands with some difficult games still to be played, but Ball is right, it’s mostly in the club’s hands now.
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