Convincing Spurs victorious over lacklustre Everton

Following an underwhelming draw on Monday against Leicester, Spurs produced a spectacle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during their first home game of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Facing Everton on Saturday afternoon, Tottenham did not relieve the pressure from Sean Dyche’s shoulders, scoring four goals past a lacklustre side. The Toffees have conceded seven goals in the first two games of the season, losing 3-0 to a threatening Brighton in the first round. A suspended Ashley Young was a blow in the build-up to the game, as 19-year-old Roman Dixon filled in at right-back – another predicament for Dyche to overcome.

Image from the Guardian

There were three changes to Tottenham’s starting eleven as an injured Rodrigo Bentancur was excluded due to concussion protocol, requiring Kulusevski to adopt a more central role to his conventional right-wing position. Pape Matar Sarr was also left out of the squad and was replaced by a returning Bissouma, who served his suspension from the first team due to an internal controversy. Dominic Solanke, who appeared in every Premier League game for Bournemouth during the 2023/24 season, was injured and was subsequently replaced by debutant summer signing Wilson Odobert.

It was a dominant performance from Spurs from kick-off to the final whistle. A strong Spurs scored four past a lacklustre Everton with Bissouma netting his first goal in a Tottenham shirt with a beautiful strike from outside the 18-yard box in the fourteenth minute of the game. Son scored Spurs’ second, courtesy of an Everton defensive nightmare, where Pickford gifted the ball to the winger inside the penalty area, seeing Tottenham lead 2-0 at halftime.

Image from the Independent

The second half was a mirror image of the first with Spurs scoring an additional two goals, which Cristian Romero and Son Heung-Min took. Romero contributed to his tally from the 2023/24 Premier League season, where he became the top-scoring defender, by connecting with a cross from James Maddison, seeing his headed effort ricochet off the crossbar and into the back of the net. The credit for the build-up play to Son’s goal can be associated with the contribution of Micky Van de Ven. He had a previous injury scare earlier in the game but, nonetheless, carried the ball from outside his own penalty area to that of his opponents to assist the South Korean.

After the conclusion of matchday 2, Spurs currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League table behind defending champions Manchester City, a threatening Brighton, an ambitious Arsenal, and a Klopp-less Liverpool. Their next trip will be to St James’ Park on Sunday, where Tottenham have conceded ten goals in their previous two excursions.