Everton eased their relegation worries with a narrow 3-2 win over an error-plagued Tottenham Hotspur side, heaping 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 Jelavic sealed a memorable comeback for David Moyes.
Moyes’ return to the Everton dugout had not gone to plan in midweek against Aston Villa, but there was a completely different feeling on Merseyside once Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring with a clever low finish after some good work by Idrissa Gueye.
Calvert-Lewin had gone 16 games without scoring but showed tremendous confidence to turn Archie Gray and Ben Davies past goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
Tottenham, who were without striker Dominic Solanke after he suffered a knee injury in training, should have equalized through Son Heung-min ten minutes later but his tame effort following a Dejan Kulusevski cutback was smothered by Jordan Pickford. The Spurs captain was made to pay for his profligacy soon afterwards as Everton ruthlessly exploited more schoolboys defending against the visitors.
Iliman Ndiaye turned behind Gray and after Radu Dragusin failed to engage the 24-year-old, he entered the penalty area with a bit of craftiness before firing a shot past Kinsky and into the roof of the net.
Orel Mangala had been denied by the post before Ndiaye’s goal, but Everton were not denied a third before the break when the unfortunate Grey, drafted into a back three alongside the unfortunate Dragusin and Ben Davies, deflected in a flick by Calvert-Lewin. through the six yard area.
Spurs brought on Richarlison for Dragusin at half-time (the latter had received a heavy blow to the head late in the first half), but James Maddison’s high, wide effort with just over 15 minutes remaining was his first. attempt of any kind in 40 minutes. .
Spurs, perhaps recognizing how uneven their performance had been, found a way to score moments later through Kulusevski – the Swede’s exquisite shot over a wall of Everton players was a moment of real quality.
Everton, who had been an attacking threat throughout, retreated into their shell as Moyes made defensive substitutions, and former hero Richarlison set up a grandstand finish when he converted Mikey Moore’s cross from close range.
However, Everton held on and claimed a big win to build a four-point lead over Ipswich City ahead of their clash with Manchester Metropolis at Portman Highway.
|
Player |
Classification |
|---|---|
|
GK: Jordan Pickford |
6.7/10 |
|
RB: Jake O’Brien |
7.0/10 |
|
CB: James Tarkowski (c) |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Jarrad Branthwaite |
7.1/10 |
|
Pound: Vitalii Mykolenko |
6.7/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Orel Mangala |
7.4/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Idrissa Wins Gueye |
8.7/10 |
|
RM: Jesper Lindstrom |
7.9/10 |
|
SOY: Abdoulaye Doucoure |
6.6/10 |
|
LM: indian education |
8.0/10 |
|
Frequently asked questions: Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
8.4/10 |
|
SUB: Ashley Younger (70′ for Lindstrom) |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Nathan Patterson (81′ for Ndiaye) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Michael Keane (88′ for O’Brien) |
N/A |
Unused substitutes: Asmir Begovic (GK), João Virginia (GK), Harrison Armstrong, Jack Harrison, Beto, Martin Sherif.
|
Player |
Classification |
|---|---|
|
GK: Antonin Kinsky |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: gray archie |
4.7/10 |
|
CB: Radu Dragusin |
5.1/10 |
|
CB: Ben Davies |
6.0/10 |
|
RWB: Pedro Porro |
7.0/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Pope Sarr |
6.6/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Lucas Bergvall |
7.2/10 |
|
LWB: Djed Spence |
7.4/10 |
|
SOY: Dejan Kulusevski |
7.8/10 |
|
SOY: James Maddison |
6.7/10 |
|
CALL: Son Heung-min (c) |
6.6/10 |
|
SUB: Richarlison (46′ for Dragusin) |
6.9/10 |
|
SUB: Mikey Moore (74′ for Sarr) |
6.8/10 |
Unused substitutes: Brandon Austin (GK), Malachi Hardy, Callum Olusesi, Min-Hyeok Yang, Sergio Reguilon, Damola Ajayi, Will Lankshear.
