Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged the impact of Leicester City substitute James Maddison after Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at Goodison Park. The Foxes were beaten 2-1 on Merseyside despite an improved second-half performance. Early goals from Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson had put Everton in the driving seat. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers made a double change at the break, bringing on Maddison – who missed Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Chelsea with a hip injury – and Kelechi Iheanacho. Iheanacho pulled a goal back in the 51st minute but the home side held on to take all three points.
Carlo Ancelotti said “That is what we wanted from this game – three points, I think the first half was good for us but then they changed their shape and we had more difficulty with Maddison. The second half was difficult. We were a little worried and didn’t play as well as we did in the first half but in the end the the points give us the possibility to continue the dream. The next game will be important but we have to be there to fight for a place in Europe.”