Tottenham head into Christmas on the back of three wins, but they were certainly made to work for it.
Spurs were 2-0 up after just 18 minutes through Richarlison and Heung-min Son against Sean Dyche’s Everton, but the in-form Toffees had won all of their last four Premier League games and showed they are a well-oiled machine as they grew into the contest throughout the first half.
Their threat never waned after that, and it will concern Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou quite how much possession his side afforded Everton in the second period. Andre Gomes’s brilliant strike made for a nervy finish with eight minutes to go, and it was ultimately Tottenham’s goalkeeper who won them this game — Guglielmo Vicario tipping Arnaut Danjuma’s fierce late drive over the crossbar.
It didn’t need to be like this for the hosts, though. Through Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp — starting just his second Premier League game of the season due to Yves Bissouma’s suspension — Spurs won the ball off Everton plenty of times. The issue was how often Postecoglou’s side then lost it. It allowed Everton to improve as the first half wore on.
Had Amadou Onana left the ball for Jarrad Branthwaite rather than smashing over, or James Garner struck on goal with more conviction, Tottenham’s lead might have been decreased, or even wiped out, before the break.
The sweeping counter-attack started by Sarr, assisted by the superb Brennan Johnson, and finished off by Richarlison which gave Tottenham their seventh-minute lead felt a fair time ago in the second half, owing to Everton’s greater possession and greater threat.
Eric Dier replaced Cristian Romero at the break, with the Argentinian centre-back seen on the bench with an ice pack under his right hamstring in the second half but then walking freely at full-time. Dier and, indeed, the whole Spurs defence were in for a tough 45 minutes.
But for all of Everton’s possession and attacks, Tottenham are well versed in carrying their threat not through deliberative possession but through counter-attacking play, and they could have made it 3-0 when Dejan Kulusevski got away, only for Jordan Pickford to tip the ball round the post excellently.
Gomes scored a magnificent goal to half the deficit for Everton with eight minutes to go, and Vicario earned his stripes as he denied from former Spurs man Danjuma.
In stoppage time, Danjuma came even closer as he crashed a volley off the crossbar which bounced down on the goal-line. Most of the ball was over the line, but Vicario’s knee kept it out, as goal-line technology showed. Son’s clenched fists at full-time told of the relief Spurs experienced here.
