Carlo Ancelotti believes returning Everton fans contributed to their win over Chelsea.
Saturday’s Premier League encounter saw 2,000 home supporters make a long-awaited reappearance inside Goodison Park since March 1 this year.
A Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty, won after Edouard Mendy floored Dominic Calvert-Lewin, was enough to give the Blues victory over Frank Lampard’s side.
Ancelotti paid tribute to the efforts of his team in nullifying the Londoners and acknowledged the positive influence provided by fans during the game.
He said: “We needed this performance and we needed these points.
“Tonight the performance was really, really good. You cannot win against Chelsea if you don’t have a good performance.
“Defensively, we were really good, we didn’t concede opportunities, just two from outside the box.
“We were really well organised with the defenders and midfielders, the effort of the team was top.
“Our supporters made a lot of difference – we had only 2,000 but it was a totally different atmosphere.
“We are really happy for this. I hope the ground will be full as soon as possible.”
Everton have now taken seven points from their previous four top flight games ahead of next Wednesday’s trip to a title-chasing Leicester City.
“We have to see if this result will help in the future,” added Ancelotti.
“We started the season really well but after that we lost a little bit of our confidence and attitude.
“We have a really tough game on Wednesday, when I hope to see the same attitude and spirit.
“Tonight, we won because of our spirit, not the quality of our play. We didn’t have the ball as much as we wanted but defensively we were really good.
“After a difficult period, we were able to move on.
“Now we are showing more consistency.”