Everton’s unbeaten start at the Hill Dickinson Stadium came to a controversial end as Spurs defender Micky van de Ven’s double and Papu Matar Sarr’s late triple gave the visitors a 3-0 win, after the hosts had their equalizer canceled out by VAR for a controversial offside decision.
Everton had not lost in their first five games at their new home, but were almost overturned by two goals from corners before half-time. It was the first time all season that they conceded a goal from a set piece.
Van de Ven continued his impressive scoring run with his fourth and fifth goals of the season, but he could not have expected an easier finish. He first diverted Rodrigo Bentancur’s header past Jordan Pickford and across goal, but Pedro Polo’s superb effort left him completely unmarked.
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Van de Ven scores two points for Spurs
In between those goals was what looked like a legitimate equalizer from Jake O’Brien. He gave Guglielmo Vicario little chance as he headed home at the near post from another corner kick.
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Jake O’Brien’s goal was overturned after a VAR check, with Iliman Ndiaye being ruled to have interfered with Spurs stopper Guglielmo Vicario and being in an offside position.
However, Everton’s joy was short-lived when the prospect of a VAR review became clear, and their joy increased when Iliman Ndiaye was penalized for interfering with Vicario in an offside position. It’s questionable how much of an impact he had on the goalkeeper’s chances of saving O’Brien’s header, but it wasn’t something manager David Moyes would argue.
“I’ve looked at it and I think it was the right decision,” he told Sky Sports. “It wasn’t a goal. It’s hard to accept, but in the end it was the right decision.
“The position he (Ndiay) took with the goalkeeper, if it happened to me I would have complained that it was an offside goal.”
A second-half rally was not enough to sustain the Toffees’ unbeatable start at Bramley-Moore Dock, with Beto’s acrobatic bicycle kick superbly saved by Vicario and Ndiaye’s deflected shot drawing another strong stop from the Italian.
Instead, Everton fans streamed out of their new home before full-time for the first time after Sarr hit another header past Pickford from Richarlison’s nod wide of goal.
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Ismaila Sarr heads Tottenham Hotspur’s third goal to seal the victory
In a weekend of disappointing results, the three points on Merseyside were enough to lift Tottenham into third place after a shaky week, five points behind leaders and north London rivals Arsenal.
Moyes: “There’s no need to overreact”
Everton manager David Moyes told Sky Sports:
“There’s no need to react in a big way. We played against a good team in Tottenham, they’re in the Champions League.
“We moved from the stadium. The position needed to improve. It was the first time we lost at the stadium since we moved here.”
Frank wanted to improve his set pieces
Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank told Sky Sports:
“We said from the beginning of the team that we wanted to improve more and one of them is that we are strong defensively and we need to improve our set-pieces. We had two very good goals, but we also had the desire and mentality to defend the box.”
“We’ve always tried to build things and add depth to the team. The whole team was good, but Joao Parinha and Bentancur were great. All the subs made a difference. It’s a long season and we’re going to need everyone.”
Analysis: Spurs end Everton’s dominance
Sky Sports’ Ron Walker at Hill Dickinson Stadium:
Tottenham’s performance on the banks of the Mersey in the rain and wind was a little more beautiful than the match that day, but that was Thomas Frank’s intention all along.
They took the lead without playing particularly well, but under this head coach they showed they were a constant threat from set-pieces, and then disrupted Everton’s rhythm by slowing the pace of the game as much as possible at every restart, and it paid off.
Despite a promising start, this was Jack Grealish’s most ineffective game in a Toffees shirt, and as he faded, only Iliman Ndiaye’s brilliance and Beto’s late acrobatics threatened a comeback.
Even with manager David Moyes pointing out Jake O’Brien’s canceled goal, it was a 50-50 decision to penalize Ndiaye, and without that stroke of luck his team would have gained nothing throughout the entire 90 minutes.
Spurs continue to exceed their expected goal totals, but they make their own luck. It’s not a pretty way to win, and Frank is a manager who hopes to introduce a more expansive style in time, but for now it’s been effective enough to lift a team that finished fourth last season to third in the Premier League table.
Carla says Pickford might have a problem.
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports:
“When you talk about certain teams and players not being suited to this change in style in the Premier League, Everton have got Jordan Pickford, England’s No. 1, and that’s no surprise. But I don’t think his size and presence is set up to deal with a situation like Van de Ven’s goal.”
“It wasn’t a good look for the England goalkeeper. He’s a great goalkeeper, but if people keep putting the ball on his head he might be in trouble.”
