Tottenham end Everton's unbeaten run to consolidate top-4 spot
Before Sunday, had the Premier League season started on New Year’s Day, Everton and Tottenham would occupy 1st and 2nd, respectively. The two form teams this calendar year met at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon in their bid to achieve their seasonal goal. Spurs remain very much in the hunt for a Champions League finish and with Liverpool overcoming Arsenal on Saturday, they had the chance to put some light between themselves and the Gunners in 5th. Everton, meanwhile, harboured hopes of a top-6 finish and after Manchester United’s slip up at home to Bournemouth in the weekend’s early kick off, had the chance to cut the gap between themselves and Jose Mourinho’s side to two points.
A frantic opening 20 minutes followed before a moment of magic broke the deadlock as Harry Kane from 25 yards blasted past Joel Robles after not being closed down to score his 18th Premier League goal of the season. Ahead of the tie, much was made of the striking battle between Kane and Romelu Lukaku. Two two frontman were level with Alexis Sanchez on 17 goals ahead of Sunday’s early kick off and are considered two of the best in their position in England’s top tier.
Yet while Lukaku was marshalled excellently by compatriots Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen - at least until the latter defender slipped to allow Lukaku a free run at goal to half the deficit with 10 minutes to play - Kane was at his barnstorming best against the Toffees, with the England international scoring his and Spurs’ second quickly after the interval. Kane now has 14 in 12 competitive appearances for Spurs in 2017 and he rightly earned the praise following another impressive attacking performance for the north London outfit.
Everton had a clear gameplan from the get go, which was to minimise Kane’s impact by any means necessary. Indeed, Toffees boss Ronald Koeman started with five central midfielders in a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin and Gareth Barry shielding the backline. The approach was clearly to limit the space in the middle of the park, this forcing Spurs wide. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have performed well with a three-man defence this term, utilising wing-backs to help stretch the opposition, the absence of Danny Rose somewhat limited its effectiveness.
Nevertheless, Kane was as potent as ever to earn the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.65, despite space in the middle coming at a premium. Second to him was Welshman Ben Davies, who has struggled to have the same impact as Rose on the left and, as such, has been widely criticised in his failure to provide a sufficient attacking threat from wide. However, it goes without saying that his showing in Spurs’ 3-2 win over Everton was arguably one of his best.
Indeed, a WhoScored rating of 7.98 was second only to Kane at White Hart Lane on Sunday as he first off provided the assist for Kane’s stunning opener, all the while breaking forward effectively. No player made more key passes than Davies (4) in the victory, while he had more touches (89) than any other player. With a majority of Spurs’ attacks going down their left (39%) and the average position map showing Davies more advanced than Kyle Walker, the Wales international was tasked with spreading the play and attacking the opponents.
While his attacking output has been questioned in the past, his defensive showings have always been solid and despite pushing forward readily where possible, Davies did not shirk his responsibilities as only Leighton Baines (8) made more tackles than the Spurs wing-back (5) in the encounter. This ensured direct adversary Seamus Coleman failed to get a foothold in the game - at least from an offensive sense - as Everton focused their efforts down the right, with 40% of their attacks going down the right.
Yet, only Morgan Schneiderlin (5.42) gained a lower WhoScored rating than Coleman (5.96) on the day, with the Everton right-back dispossessed more times (4) than any other player. Davies put in a performance that Pochettino would have hoped for, with the left-back - perhaps for the first time this season - proving he is a more than able stand in for Rose if deployed as a wing-back rather than in a more familiar left-back role. His outing was all the more imperative, with Koeman afterwards admitting that he packed the midfield to close the space between the lines to force the ball wide.
What’s more is that he was quick to note that Pochettino is in his 3rd season at White Hart Lane compared to Koeman in his 1st at Everton and the gulf in class showed. That being said, Koeman has himself a solid foundation with which to build upon. The midfield trio of Barry, Schneiderlin and Gueye is formidable on its day and allows Ross Barkley and Lukaku greater freedom to attack opponents. This also benefits Leighton Baines and Coleman, who provide width from deep and while it was somewhat ineffective on Sunday, they still boast one of the best records in 2017, with the loss at White Hart Lane bringing to an end a nine-match unbeaten league run, six of which have been wins.
The gap between Spurs and Chelsea remains seven points, with the Blues yet to play, but they are making a surge at the right time to establish themselves as the 2nd best team in England. Pochettino’s side endured a late scare on Sunday, with Enner Valencia bagging a late consolation for Everton, but at this stage of the season, the three points was as vital as they come in their bid to secure a second successive Champions League finish.
For more stats on Tottenham 3-2 Everton, click here to view the WhoScored match centre
