Jamie Carragher has told Monday Night Football, which was broadcast live on Sky Sports, that Carlo Ancelotti made exactly the right decision not to play Allan or Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the Merseyside derby for Everton.
Everton picked up a 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield at the weekend.
It was the first time since 1999 that the Toffees had won at the home of their nearest rivals and the result was celebrated wildly by the blue half of Merseyside.
However, Ancelotti’s decision making process was not impacted by the magnitude of the fixture.
While other managers may have been tempted to throw key players such as Calvert-Lewin and Allan into Everton’s team despite them not being fully fit, the Italian is too experienced to make that error.
And Carragher says that Ancelotti did well not to make the same mistake as Roberto Martinez had previously.
“The reason I say Ancelotti won that game is because he took the emotion out of the game with the team he picked,” he said.
“As soon as that team came in Evertonians getting ready for the game, their heart sank. No Calvert-Lewin and no Allan.
“Now Allan hadn’t played for two months and Calvert-Lewin was coming back from a hamstring injury so it’s the right decision.
“But because emotionally at times the derby is like the biggest game they have to win. Roberto Martinez told me a story that he once felt pressure to play Gareth Barry in a derby game at Anfield and he wasn’t fit.
“He got injured, they lost the game and he missed the FA Cup semi-final and he always looks back at that as a huge regret.
“Ancelotti again ‘this is three points for our European ambitions, forget Liverpool’.”
Everton’s win means that they now have moved level on points with Liverpool and possess a game in hand.
There are genuine hopes around Goodison Park that their side could make a push for the top four now, with their progress under Ancelotti vast.
Everton are next in action on Monday when they take on Southampton.
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