Tottenham come unstuck as Everton rediscover scoring touch in one-sided victory
Goal-shy Everton embarrassed injury-hit Tottenham with their first Premier League goals since Boxing Day in a one-sided opening 45 minutes which paved the way for a 3-2 victory at Goodison Park that piled pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
In the second game of David Moyes’ return since replacing Sean Dyche, this felt like a real throwback performance to the Scot’s Toffees heyday of the late 2000s – and they were well worth what was only their fourth victory of the campaign.
Bristling with energy, aggression and a lack of fear of their opponents, the home team raced into a 3-0 half-time lead, something which they had not achieved at Goodison for 15 days short of eight years.
A rejuvenated Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first in 17 matches and Iliman Ndiaye scored his maiden home league goal before the unfortunate Archie Gray, unwittingly involved in the first two, turned the ball into his own net.
Victory lifted Everton four points clear of the relegation zone and only four below their 15th-placed opponents, whose first-half performance was inexcusable against the league’s lowest scorers despite the loss of striker Dominic Solanke to a training-ground injury the previous day.
Postecoglou, who had 10 players injured and lost Radu Dragusin to a head injury for the second half, now faces even more questions about his management of an underperforming squad.
Were Spurs not taking a 1-0 lead into their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Anfield across Stanley Park his job would be hanging by a thread, but it must still be under threat after a 12th league defeat.
Conceding three of their 35 goals at Goodison Park was unforgivable against a side who had failed to find the net in nine of their last 11 league fixtures.
Even taking into account a long injury list, Spurs possessed far more quality – Son Heung-min and James Maddison started and former Toffees forward Richarlison came off the bench for the second half – but they came up short on desire and character.
Winger Jesper Lindstrom set the tone for what was his best performance since joining on loan from Napoli with an early shot turned around the post by Antonin Kinsky.
The Tottenham goalkeeper was beaten in the next attack as Idrissa Gueye, who threaded a pass through to Calvert-Lewin.
He twisted Gray left and then right before beating Kinsky at his right-hand post. It was the beginning of a turbulent time for the Spurs 18-year-old, who is still finding his way in the Premier League, not helped by playing in an unfamiliar centre-back position.
Son had two half-chances, one snuffed out by James Tarkowski and the other too weak to trouble Jordan Pickford, watched by new England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Calvert-Lewin should have added to his meagre season’s tally of three but his touch from Jarrad Branthwaite’s long diagonal pushed the ball too close to Kinsky, who then turned Orel Mangala’s shot onto a post.
Gray was caught out of position on halfway when Ndiaye exchanged passes with Gueye to race into the inside-left channel, shifted Dragusin one way and then the other to before firing into the roof of the net.
Tarkowski’s diving header from Lindstrom’s free-kick was saved by Kinsky but from the resulting corner the Everton winger again picked out the centre-back at the far post and his header was flicked on by Calvert-Lewin and the ball went in off the unlucky Gray, who was enduring what can only be described as a “learning experience”.
It was the first time since February 2017 against Bournemouth, when they won 6-3, they had been 3-0 up at half-time.
Everton continued to create chances with Calvert-Lewin hooking a shot wide before Moyes started to make defensive changes.
Richarlison somehow missed a cross when it seemed easier to head it in but, when Pickford came out to meet Maddison that left the goal open and Dejan Kulusevki chipped over a crowd of defenders with 13 minutes remaining.
The hosts ended the game with effectively six defenders on the pitch, and while that could not prevent Richarlison scoring in the third added minute, they clung on as Moyes celebrated his first Everton win just under 12 years after his previous one to give their survival hopes a major boost.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie