Everton 2-6 Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs ran riot on Merseyside this afternoon, giving Everton six of the best and sending a clear message to their Premier League title rivals. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are definitely in the race.
Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane scored two each to send Spurs fans into a winter wonderland and with high hopes for 2019.
A surprise defeat for Chelsea, at home to Leicester City, confirmed Spurs would be in third place on Christmas Day and this win took them to within two points of Manchester City in second. After a fascinating set of results this weekend it may be worth taking another look at the Premier League 2018 betting odds. Spurs are going well and their odds are dropping fast. And with a kind set of fixtures coming up they could gather some serious momentum.
Highlights of the game
In a bright start to the game, there were chances at either end. Richarlison has been in scintillating form for the Toffees but he should have done better with a headed chance early in the game, nodding wide when completely unmarked. And then Harry Kane had a chance to lob Jordan Pickford but his effort also drifted wide.
Then the floodgates opened and it was former Arsenal man Theo Walcott who put the Toffees ahead. Dominic Calvert-Lewin made a strong run before pulling the ball back to Walcott who fired home from ten yards. The Goodison faithful celebrated, blissfully unaware of what was to come.
Jordan Pickford is probably still having nightmares after his injury time howler which gifted Liverpool three points in the Merseyside derby, but the way Spurs equalised won’t help the England keeper one bit. Kane chipped a ball over for Son to chase and when Pickford ran into his defender Kurt Zouma that left the Spurs striker free to float a beautiful finish into the far corner of an empty net. And it was 1-2 on 35 minutes when Pickford got a strong hand to a low Son shot, but as the ball bounced out and the Everton defence watched Dele Alli fire the ball home through a forest of legs.
As Spurs began to turn the screw Kieran Trippier had a chance from a free-kick which he expertly curled onto Pickford’s near post, and this time Kane benefited from the rebound.
Everton desperately needed to score next, but they didn’t! And it was the pick of Spurs’ goals when Kane’s cross was headed out to Christian Eriksen some 20 yards out and he fired a sweet half-volley into the bottom right corner. The Toffees briefly thought they were back in the game when Gylfi Sigurdsson fashioned a chance for himself, evading three defenders before firing low beyond the reach of Hugo Lloris.
That was on 51 minutes but soon after the hour mark, it was 2-5. Erik Lamela fired a superb pass into the feet of Son and he finished calmly through Pickford’s legs. Spurs were playing with such pace and fluency by now that the Everton players could only participate as bystanders at times. And when Son crossed for Kane, the England skipper shaped himself and diverted the ball into the far corner.
Spurs are on the march.
Key Statistics
Pochettino’s hot shots started the game at SBOBET odds of 2.29 to win, and that looked fantastic value with well over half of the game still to play.
After Everton went ahead the visitors blew them away with three quick goals and they won the second half by the same scoreline. That’s nine wins in eleven away games for Spurs, and the first defeat in six at home for the Toffees.
Spurs are still the only team in the league without a draw, winning fourteen and drawing four.
Harry Kane has scored four consecutive braces against Everton and Eriksen has scored in the last three meetings.
What’s next?
The league table makes for nice reading for Spurs fans as they head into Christmas and they’ll be ready and raring to go again after a short holiday. We’ll be here with all the Premier League 2018 updates and watching Pochettino’s team very closely.
Spurs are at home to Bournemouth and Wolves and then away to Cardiff on New Years Day in a hectic schedule, but they can certainly hope for nine more points.
The Toffees are in the bottom half of the table and have a trip to Burnley on Boxing Day. That won’t be easy against a side fighting hard to get out of a relegation scrap. Then they go away to Brighton before entertaining Leicester City on New Years Day, and the Foxes have just beaten Chelsea of course.
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