Conte's stance on Tottenham team clear to see
Always set to rotate his Tottenham team following the midweek win over Eintracht Frankfurt, Antonio Conte made three alterations for the visit of Everton. They were, as is usually the case, the same three positions he usually changes when he tweaks his starting XI.
Ben Davies replaced Clement Lenglet at left centre-back, Matt Doherty came in for the suspended Emerson Royal at right wing-back and Ivan Perisic was restored to his left wing-back berth as Ryan Sessegnon dropped to the bench. Despite players such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur needing a rest at some point, Conte elected against starting either of Yves Bissouma or Oliver Skipp instead of the duo.
Conte's stance when it comes to his Tottenham team is clear to see as eight positions appear to be set with three there for the taking. The head coach is going to have to rotate his Tottenham regulars at some point sooner rather than later, though, due to the amount of games coming up or they will ultimately burn out.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings: Hojbjerg and Bentancur run the show as Doherty and Romero impress
Richarlison reaction
Saturday's match saw Richarlison come up against his former club for the first time since departing Goodison Park in the summer. Despite picking up a little knee issue against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Brazilian was fit enough to start and took his place alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in the front three once again.
An emotional evening for the player facing Everton, he was keen to catch up with a few familiar faces ahead of kick-off, including the Toffees' photographer who he went over to hug before going back in after his warm up. Embracing former teammates such as Seamus Coleman, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Alex Iwobi when the players shook hands ahead of kick-off, he then received a huge ovation from the Tottenham fans and a round of applause from the travelling Everton faithful when his name was read out.
Having a couple of openings on goal in the first half, the attacker was only on the pitch for five minutes after the break as he made way with what looked to be a calf problem. Not how he would have wanted his return against his former club to pan out; Conte will be hoping it isn't a serious issue for his forward.
Tottenham overcome familiar problem
Making light work of Everton at the start of March following a convincing 5-0 win, Frank Lampard had a different plan for Saturday's game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tending to line up in a 4-3-3 formation, the Blues put an extra body at the back and instead went with a 5-3-2 setup as Dwight McNeil operated at left wing-back.
This ultimately caused Tottenham big problems as they had limited space in the final third to try and find a way past their opponents, who slowed the game right down at times in the opening 45 minutes. An issue for the Lilywhites in the past with the team missing that bit of creativity and magic to create something out of nothing, it was a game when Spurs were crying out for the injured Dejan Kulusevski.
Conte's men did have a few openings in the first half but they were half-chances at best, with Richarlison in particular heading and shooting over from close range. Spurs did look so much better going forward after the restart, with Conte, not long after his half-time message, seen having an extra word with a group of his players in the tunnel for a good minute just before coming out for the second half.
Bissouma and Doherty impact
In the starting XI last weekend at Brighton & Hove Albion but dropped down to the bench against Everton, Bissouma was introduced in the 52nd minute following Richarlison's injury. Switching to a 3-5-2 in the process, Spurs again looked so much better for having the extra midfielder in the side.
The change did also give Doherty a bit more licence to push upfield with Bissouma an extra body helping out at the back. Doherty's play in the final third did indeed lead to Spurs' opener as his low shot was parried by Jordan Pickford, who in turn collided with Kane and sent him to ground after the striker reacted quickest to the loose ball.
Calm and composed on the ball when in possession, Bissouma also did his bit defensively, including a good tackle on Demarai Gray with Everton looking to push on and restore parity.
Brilliant Spence ovation
Tottenham fans finally got to see Djed Spence on the pitch for the very first time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening. In and out of the matchday squad at times and having to settle for a few minutes at the end of the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in August, the summer signing has had to be very patient.
With Conte praising him in his press conference on Friday afternoon, Spence was introduced in stoppage time as the Lilywhites made a triple change. It did appear at one point that the player would come on a few minutes earlier when Davinson Sanchez replaced Cristian Romero, yet he was told to sit down with Conte clearly wanting to waste a bit more time to help see the game out by making another substitution.
Given a cheer by the north stand as he warmed up midway through the second half, the player received an extremely loud ovation from the home fans once he took to the pitch in the dying minutes on his Spurs home debut. The player will now have his fingers crossed that more minutes come his way before the World Cup as he looks to show everyone why he was brought to the club.
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