Carlo Ancelotti wants his players to focus on their performance and not the result after Everton’s cruel 2-2 draw against Newcastle United at Goodison.
Following a dominant display, the Blues looked to be cruising to victory thanks to a first-half opener from Moise Kean – his maiden goal for the Club – and 10th Premier League strike of the campaign from fellow forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
But Everton were stunned in injury-time as Newcastle netted in the 94th and 95th minutes to deny the hosts a deserved victory on the back of a hugely-impressive showing.
Ancelotti admitted his side could have been “more focussed” in the closing stages but revealed the message he would be giving his squad would be to maintain that level of performance in upcoming games.
“Sometimes in football that can happen, sometimes you have to accept this,” said Ancelotti. “The fact is we played really well, the result is not what we wanted but the performance can give us confidence for the next games.
“Until the first goal, no-one thought Newcastle could draw the game. We played really well, we deserved to win but we have to accept the result. We could stay more focussed on set pieces, but the team played a fantastic game for 90 minutes. We are disappointed but we are pleased with the performance.
“I said to my players that sometimes it can happen. It is unusual to concede two goals in two minutes when the performance was at the top, in my opinion, and for this reason I look forward. If we are able to play like this, I think we will win most of our games.
“We had good balance, we tried to press forward. [Fabian] Delph and [Morgan] Schneiderlin did a fantastic job. I have nothing to say to my players because they did really well.
“We could stay more focussed in the final minutes but they are really little things. We were punished too much after that performance.”
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Ancelotti believes his compatriot Kean – a summer signing from Juventus – can take confidence from his first goal in an Everton shirt after the 19-year-old kept his cool to slot past Martin Dubravka on the half-hour mark.
On top of his goal, Kean produced a performance with plenty of hard graft and threat on the counter-attack, and Ancelotti wants the teenager to build on the display.
“He played really well,” added the Everton manager. “That goal is important for him for his confidence. He worked hard defensively, so it’s really good for him.
“What I asked, he did. His goal can give him more confidence."
