Ruthless Toffees red-hot on frozen Mersey evening
EVERTON strode with a swagger into the FA Cup fifth round as Carlo Ancelotti showed he means business in the FA Cup.
The Italian boss gambled by playing his big guns against struggling Sheffield Wednesday, despite a pivotal league clash against Leicester on Wednesday, and it paid dividends.
James Rodriguez, Richarlison and Dominic CalvertLewin all starred in this routine win.
James did not allow a frozen Mersey evening in the middle of a snowbound winter to stop him from completely running the show.
And Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison showed they have rediscovered their goal touch at the right time, as Everton blew away the plucky visitors.
There is a confidence flowing through Everton, born of an enduring faith in their manager, and his ability to fashion results no matter the circumstances.
Ancelotti, above, chose to go with a strong side, bar their best player this season, Michael Keane, and keeper Jordan Pickford.
It mattered little as they dominated, carving through a Wednesday defence.
The only surprise was that they didn’t put the tie to bed by half-time.
It was no surprise the man who put them ahead before the interval, to at least hint at their dominance, was the returning who had been absent for two weeks through injury.
His strike on 27 minutes showed the development he has enjoyed this season as a penalty box striker, his instinct to gamble on a fine cross from the left by Andre Gomes, after an impressive burst into the channel, showed a true scorer.
His return comes at a significant time with league games against Leicester, Manchester United and Liverpool over the next month – the ultimate test of their top-four ambitions.
Ancelotti though, wants to win a trophy and he is eyeing the FA Cup.
Wednesday, showed a resilience in the opening hour that belied their position.
The home side were frustrated as Richardson hit the bar and then had a goal ruled out for offside.
But Wednesday crumbled on 59 minutes, at a simple set piece, with James curling a corner that Richarlison converted.
A minute later,Yerry Mina rose to power in a header as Everton booked a meeting with Wycombe or Tottenham.