An emphatic Spurs side thrashed a sorry Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday pushing the visitors past the 40 point mark and six points off the summit. Braces from Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane saw off Everton who started brightly in Merseyside yet Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham were too much for the Toffee’s and their clinical display resulted in another away win for the Lilywhites.
Everton fans will be looking for answers after Marco Silva’s side were brushed away with their defence looking particularly poor. The game started openly with both sides looking open and willing to attack. However, a Jordan Pickford mistake meant that Son cancelled out Theo Walcott’s well-worked opener. Shortly after the home side found themselves 3-1 down at halftime.
With an abundance of goals, the pick of the lot was Christian Eriksen’s spectacular strike. Everton attempted to find a way back into the game and after cutting their gap down to two after Sigurdsson danced through the Spurs defence, the gap was quickly increased to three and then four thanks to goals from Son and Kane.
The win puts Spurs five points ahead of their London rivals; Chelsea and Arsenal and firmly in third place as they continue to chase down Manchester City and Liverpool.
Is Everton’s offensive style their downfall?
This season, Everton’s new style of play has seen many of their performances praised. Games against teams they are expected to beat see them pick their opposition off. However, Everton are yet to beat a top six side this season.
Despite the visitors offensive players running riot on Merseyside, Silva did not change his tactics well on Sunday. Their defence looked open and there was little midfield protection. Dele Alli’s goal saw Andre Gomes switch off tracking back highlighting the lack of support from the midfield group.
Everton created plenty of chances but perhaps the focus on constantly attacking means that there is a lack of attention to defensive detail. This means that sides who have an attack as deadly as Tottenham’s cause Everton real problems. There has also been too many changes in Everton’s attack this season. Silva devoted nearly two months worth of fixtures to playing Richarlison as a lone striker but has moved him back to a wide position despite him being their top goal scorer.
What’s wrong with Everton’s defence?
Everton have now conceded 15 goals in their last five games having only conceded 13 in their first 13 games of the season. Seamus Coleman was run ragged by Son on the left-hand side and his performances have been questioned a few times this season.
However, on Sunday the partnership between Kurt Zouma and Michael Keane looked particularly weak. They struggled to track back and made silly mistakes that led to goals that ultimately saw them lose dismally.
Marco Silva’s side spent most of the game on the back-foot on Sunday and their defence never looked like they could deal with the rampant Spurs attack. Perhaps Silva needs to change his approach against the bigger sides. Keane has played almost every game this season and his impressive performances at the start of the season earned him a place in the England squad.
Spurs highlighted problems in Everton’s defence that have been slowly emerging. Everton have only kept four clean sheets out of 18 games despite having a solid defence on paper. Something is going wrong on the field and Silva needs to find a solution if Everton are to stop leaking goals.
Can Spurs challenge for the title?
The 6-2 victory puts Tottehan this two points behind City and six behind Liverpool. After losing to Arsenal in the North London Derby, Spurs have been flawless. They haven’t lost in the league since and perhaps the loss was needed to provide Pochettino’s side with a desire to show how good they really are. They have scored 12 goals in four games, qualified for the Champions League knockout stages and avenged their loss to Arsenal, knocking them out of the League Cup.
If Spurs continue to play like they are and keep winning then there is no doubt that they will be involved in a title challenge. Their consistency has seen them move safely into the top four and now they will be surely looking to chase down Liverpool who have become title favourites in recent weeks.
Spurs definitely have the squad to challenge for the title but it is their mentality that will come into question. When sides like Liverpool and City carry on picking up points, the London side need to make sure that they do not slip up.
Just how good is Tottenham’s attack?
In a week in which Pochettino’s has been targeted by Manchester United as a potential future manager, the Argentinian will have needed his side to put in a strong performance and shift focus away from him.
The players that will receive the most praise are Spurs’ attackers. Goals from Eriksen, Alli, Son and Kane showed how strong their attack is. All of their star attacking players got on the score sheet and it looks as though they are finally beginning to click.
A long wait for Spurs to start firing
Tottenham have taken a while to click this season but now they have, they looking frightening.
They look like they have finally recovered from a grueling summer of football. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier all went through a long World Cup campaign as well as Son, who had to earn a pass from military duty by winning the Asia Games.
With the least squad depth out of the top six sides, their starting XI is crucial to their campaign and injuries or fatigued players have a greater impact on form and performances than others. If they are to challenge for the title Pochettino will either have to add to his squad in January or continue to blood youth in less important games, as seems to be the policy so far. They also need to hope that crucial players do not get injured during the crucial Christmas period where games come thick and fast for all.
Man of the Match: Son Heung-Min
Two goals and one assist made Son Spurs’ stand out player in Merseyside. Two excellent goals, one which brought Tottenham back into the game were the pinocle of his performance and showed why he is an essential player to the Lilywhite’s team.
