Carlo Ancelotti has lamented Everton’s response after falling behind at Newcastle.
Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at St James’ Park saw the Blues pass up a chance to return to the Premier League’s summit as they suffered consecutive losses.
An injury-time consolation from Dominic Calvert-Lewin proved the sole upside to the reversal and came after Callum Wilson had doubled the hosts’ lead.
Ancelotti admitted post-match that he was not impressed by his side’s overall display and felt they failed to recover from conceding the opening goal.
“It was not a good performance, but we know this,” said the Everton manager.
“It was important to avoid mistakes. The game changed when we gave them a penalty. We had a good reaction but it was not good enough.
“After the first goal, the game completely changed. It’s exactly the same as last week against Southampton.
“We were not focused on the little details. That’s where we missed today.”
Ancelotti handed an Everton debut to Robin Olsen as Jordan Pickford was dropped for his first Premier League game since joining the club in 2017.
But despite an encouraging display by the loanee, the Italian reiterated that Pickford will return for next Saturday’s visit of Manchester United to Goodison Park.
He added: “It’s not [more complicated to bring Pickford back].
“In my career, I’m used to rotating goalkeepers like the other players. It will not be the last time [Olsen will play].
“The performance of Olsen was good. He was in good control of the game.”
Ancelotti also refused to be drawn on links between Everton and Isco amid claims the Real Madrid midfielder is keen to link up with his one-time boss.
He said: “Isco is a fantastic player, but I am not focused there.
“I am focused on being well-prepared for the game against United.”