.
Everton, who are now two points behind Liverpool leaders despite playing an extra game, recorded their ninth win in 15 league games despite missing a number of key players due to injury.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal gave Everton 10 minutes from time of victory and ensured they finished in the top four over the Christmas holidays for the first time in 16 years.
Ancelotti praised the fighting qualities of his side, saying: “We are in second place for the spirit of this team, the motivation and the determination of the players for this season.”
“We are not the top team but we are a strong team. In my opinion, this is of very good quality for a team, ”he told the club’s website.
While Everton are hot on the heels of the defending champions, Ancelotti said the goal for the season had not changed.
“The goal and the target are the same for the season: to reach a place in Europe.”
Everton, who won the last major English flight in 1987, missed a number of “important” players including James Rodriguez, Lucas Digne and Allan, but Ancelotti said there was no reason to add to the squad in the transfer window. .
“With those players back we can still have a good season, we don’t have to think about the January transfer window,” Ancelotti said.
There is little time for Everton to get a taste of their top position in the Premier League as they are just back in action on Monday with a Manchester City goal.
“We’re there (second), we’re happy to be there but we don’t have much time to think about it,” Ancelotti said.
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Rutherford