Tottenham come unstuck as Everton rediscover scoring touch in one-sided victory
Share:
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 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.
