Considering Everton still had something to play for, I thought they were a bit shambolic.
It has been a disappointing season, the cohesion of the team is nowhere near it should be, neither is the progress they expected, I'm sure about that. You take a look at their home record you have the answer to their problems -and there are reasons for that. The team lacks a basic platform in its game, numerous times I've watched them I had the impression players were improvising. The only decent open play I can remember from our game is a quick first touch exchange of passes setting up C. Lewin during 1st half -definitely not good enough...
But I'm not going to elaborate on Everton's game, it's the wrong thread. The thing is, vs City Anceloti had been extremely cautious and conservative so far -still had no luck. Yesterday, exactly because they had something to play for, as you say, he took a hell of a gamble. When I realised what he was up to after, say 3-5', I had the same feeling with the 2nd leg Gladbach match (or even the Spurs match at home). Marco Rose is a very good tactician but he had lost 2-0 at home. Probably thought, what's the point being cautious, I'm lost anyway...
What I'm trying to say is that in all these 3 matches, opposition had practically thrown the game away before ref's first whistle, merely hoping that God would fall asleep. A set up with 2 CBs and 2 central midfielders (3 of which clearly lack football inteligence) against City, home or away doesn't really matter, is a formation begging to be punished. Severly. In the 1st half Carlo started with Gylfi behing C. Lewin, Richarlisson closing on the left (and a free licence with the ball), for 2-3 minutes Gylfi retreated as a 3rd central midfielder (but it was already 2-0 and I thought too late, the game is gone), in the process he mutually changed Gylfi - Richarlisson (the former being a false winger, an idea Anceloti has applied frequently this season). In the 2nd half the new wingers he introduced were ordered to move with unpredictability behing the two strikers, but even then, he didn't dare to sub one of the CMs, it was Gylfi who was dropped (a player who has played as a CM for his national team): Carlo was afraid of the worse - which he did not avoid in the end...
That was pretty much it. City were bound to find and exploit spaces in midfield very easily, Everton were way too open, way too exposed, it was impossible for that formation and those players to cope with our game. Impossible. City never chased the game, we gifted them a penalty (which they wasted), we played without sweat, treating the match as a serious training session. Scored 5 without even trying. If we did, it could have been really really ugly, reaching double figures. I'm not exaggerating at all -and I would bet that Carlo agrees with that assessment...
Bottom line is that Everton reached the final game of the 2020/2021 campaign with the last opportunity to save their season, unlucky to face City away. Anceloti probaly thought that even if Spurs would lose vs highly motivated Leicester, a draw would not be enough. As Arsenal would probably beat Brighton at home, ending above Everton. He knew what he was doing, asking for a miracle against a City already thinking the CL final perhaps? A naive thought, if that is the case. Which I dont think it is, Anceloti is an inteligent man. City would use this game as preparation for the final anyway, they would love to please the fans showing up after a whole year at the Etihad, there was the Aguero motivation etc. Plus City do not throw games anyway...
To conclude this, there is no doubt in my mind that the whole Everton camp plus 99% of their fan base agree with me that the dream of European football for their team was killed BEFORE last night's match. Long before, to be acurate...
