Jamie Carragher explains why Carlo Ancelotti was his Merseyside derby man of the match
The Toffees earned a first win over Liverpool at Anfield for 22 years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jamie Carragher has explained why he thought Carlo Ancelotti was Everton's man of the match in the Merseyside derby win over Liverpool on Saturday.
Goals from Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson earned the Toffees a first victory over their rivals in a decade and their first at Anfield for 22 years.
It was an understandbly massive moment for the club and their fans after such a long wait and Carragher believes Ancelotti's ability to manage his team's emotions was the key factor in getting over the line at last.
"I never gave a man of the match in the game for whatever reason, maybe it slipped my mind," he said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football. "There was probably three or four Everton players you could have given it to, but I watched the game again yesterday morning when I got up and their man of the match was the manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
"I'll tell you the reason, in my experience, the record is so poor, and also at Goodison in the last 20 years as well. Everton never get the derby right emotionally. They're either too up for it, and they get players sent off, or they're absolutely terrified going into games, certainly at Anfield.
"And the reason I say Ancelotti won Everton that game, is that he took the emotion out of the game, with the team he picked. So when that team came in, Evertonians, getting ready for the game, their heart sank. No Calvert-Lewin, and no Allan.
“Now, Allan hasn't played for two months. Calvert-Lewin was coming back from a hamstring injury. So it's the right decision.
"But emotionally at times, Everton see the derby as the biggest game you have to win. Roberto Martinez told me a story where he almost felt pressured to play Gareth Barry in a derby game at Anfield and he wasn't 100 per cent fit.
"He got injured, they lost the game, and he missed an FA Cup semi-final, and he always looks back at that as a huge regret. Ancelotti, again, ended up saying this is three points for our European ambition, forget Liverpool."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments