Carlo Ancelotti felt that fatigue was a factor as his Everton side lost 2-0 to Fulham having gone into the game off the back of 120 minutes of a midweek FA Cup win over Tottenham.
The Italian felt that caught up with his players despite making four changes to the side, and it is a blow, with matches against Manchester City and Liverpool, at Anfield, over the next week.
Josh Maja scored a brace as relegation-threatened Fulham secured a surprise victory.
'The performance was not good enough, it was not what we expected because we knew it was an important game but we knew it was also difficult,' said Ancelotti, whose side have not won in the last four home matches.