Everton came from behind to equalise after falling behind but two second half goals saw them lose 3-1 to an unflinching Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti, unabashed, conceded it was “almost impossible” for Everton to respond after falling behind a second time to Manchester City after the Blues had cancelled out Phil Foden’s opener when Brazilian Richarlison neatly wrapped up a Lucas Digne rebound off the post.
Everton’s resistance crumbled just past the hour mark as Riyad Mahrez fired past a hapless Jordan Pickford to restore City’s advantage before Bernardo Silva drilled home to make it 3-1 with less than 20 minutes remaining at Goodison.
“[It was] really, really difficult,” Ancelloti said.
“It was a difficult game. For one hour we had good control of the game, of course, defending.
“We needed to defend and for one hour we did well, above all in the second part of the first-half.
“But when they scored the second goal it was almost impossible to be back again.
“Of course, we don’t need to have regrets for this game. In this moment, you can lose against Man City.
“From my point of view, the performance was good for one hour defending. Offensively we could do better when we had the ball.”