Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has explained his thinking behind Djibril Sidibe's new role in Thursday's 1-0 win over Burnley at Goodison Park.
The French international, on loan from Monaco, lined up in a more advanced position in front of Seamus Coleman for the majority of the game and provided the assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin's winning header.
The Blues switched system when in and out of possession, reverting to a 4-4-2 when Burnley had the ball with Sidibe playing in right midfield.
Ancelotti was asked about that decision after the game and he believes the new role worked well for the 27-year-old.
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The boss told his post-match press conference: "Offensively he [Sidibe] stayed wide. The other side we had Digne to cover the space there.
"Defensively he was working in the line of the midfielders. The shape 4-4-2 defensively didn’t change.
"We tried to build up with Coleman a little bit back and Sidibe more forward. It went well because he put the cross for Calvert-Lewin to score the goal."
And Ancelotti expected this kind of test from Thursday's opponents, and think his side coped well with their attacking threat after denying them any shots on target.
"We expected this kind of game, with a lot of long balls and a lot of fight," he added.
"They are a good team defensively, they adapted really well to our shape in the first half and we had problems for this reason.
