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Everton eased their relegation worries with a narrow 3-2 win over an error-strewn Tottenham Hotspur, piling more pressure on Ange Postecoglou in the process.
The Toffees had not beaten Spurs at Goodison Park since 2012 when injury-time goals from Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jeljevic sealed David Moyes’ memorable comeback win.
Return to Moyes’ Everton The dugout didn’t go to plan against Aston Villa in midweek, but there was a completely different feeling on Merseyside when Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring with a smart low finish following good work from Idrissa Gueye.
Calvert-Levine went 16 matches without a goal, yet showed tremendous confidence to turn Archie Gray and Ben Davies inside in front of wrong-footed goalkeeper Antonin Kinski.
TottenhamThe missing striker After Dominic Solanke suffered a knee injury In training, Son Heung-min should have equalized after ten minutes, but his controlled effort from Dejan Kulusevski’s cutback was saved by Jordan Pickford. The Spurs captain was soon paid for his profligacy after Everton ruthlessly exploited more schoolboys than the visitors defended.
Iliman Ndiaye got behind Gray and after Radu Dragusin failed to connect with the 24-year-old, he made his way into the penalty area with some trickery before firing past Kinski into the roof of the net.
Orel Mangala was denied by the post before Ndiaye’s goal but Everton were not to be denied a third before half-time as the unlucky Gray was drafted into a back three with the hapless Dragusin and Ben Davies deflecting in Calvert-Lewin’s flick. The entire six yard box.
Spurs introduced Richarlison for Dragusin at the break – the latter suffered a nasty blow to the head towards the end of the first half – but James Maddison’s goal with just over 15 minutes remaining was his first try of any kind in 40 minutes. .
Spurs, perhaps recognizing how ordinary their performance was, found their way onto the scoresheet moments later through Kulusevski – the Swede’s sublime chip on a wall of Everton players a moment of real quality.
Everton, who had been an attacking threat throughout, retreated into their shells as defensive substitute Moyes, and former hero Richarlin set up a glorious finish when he converted a Mickey Moore cross from point-blank range.
Everton scored an emphatic win to take a four-point advantage over Ipswich Town ahead of their clash with Manchester City at Portman Road.
|
Player |
rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Jordan Pickford |
6.7/10 |
|
RB: Jack O’Brien |
7.0/10 |
|
CB: James Tarkovsky (c) |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Jarrad Branthwaite |
7.1/10 |
|
LB: Vitaly Mykolenko |
6.7/10 |
|
Chief Minister: Aurel Mangala |
7.4/10 |
|
Chief Minister: Idrisa Gan Guye |
8.7/10 |
|
RM: Jasper Lindstrom |
7.9/10 |
|
AM: Abdoulaye Doukore |
6.6/10 |
|
LM: Indian Education |
8.0/10 |
|
CF: Dominic Calvert-Levine |
8.4/10 |
|
Sub: Ashley Young (70′ for Lindstrom) |
6.1/10 |
|
Sub: Nathan Patterson (81′ Ndiaye) |
N/A |
|
Sub: Michael Keane (88 for O’Brien) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Asmir Begovic (GK), Joao Virginia (GK), Harrison Armstrong, Jack Harrison, Beto, Martin Sheriff.
|
Player |
rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Antonin Kinski |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: Archie Gray |
4.7/10 |
|
CB: Radu Dragusin |
5.1/10 |
|
CB: Ben Davis |
6.0/10 |
|
RWB: Pedro Poro |
7.0/10 |
|
Chief Minister: Pope Sir |
6.6/10 |
|
Chief Minister: Lucas Bergwall |
7.2/10 |
|
LWB: DJ Spence |
7.4/10 |
|
AM: Dejan Kulusevski |
7.8/10 |
|
AM: James Madison |
6.7/10 |
|
ST: Son Hang-min (c) |
6.6/10 |
|
Sub: Richarlison (46′ for Dragusin) |
6.9/10 |
|
Sub: Mickey Moore (74′ for Sir) |
6.8/10 |
Subs not used: Brandon Austin (GK), Malachi Hardy, Callum Olusi, Min-Hyok Yang, Sergio Regulon, Damola Ajayi, Will Lancashire.
