A Harry Kane header saw Tottenham deservedly claim all three points after a dominant display at Goodison Park.
Kane rounded off a breakout season with his 21st goal in the league, a classic striker’s finish in the 24th minute. Eric Dier whipped in a pinpoint cross from the right-hand side, putting the ball on a plate for the young striker to head beyond the reach of Tim Howard.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team never took its foot off the pedal, leaving Everton to chase shadows for the best part of 90 minutes.
Belgian Kevin Mirallas looked likeliest to score for the Blues before his substitution with a quarter of an hour to play, testing Hugo Lloris twice in the opening half while causing some problems around the penalty area.
The win takes Spurs above Liverpool and up to fifth, ensuring automatic Europa League qualification, while the home side slid back into the bottom half of the table, usurped by Crystal Palace.
The match also saw the swan songs of both Brad Friedel and Sylvain Distin, with the latter making a six-minute cameo off the bench.
Formations
Roberto Martinez was forced into making one change to the team that defeated West Ham the week prior. On-loan winger Aaron Lennon was ineligible for the match against his parent club and was replaced in the XI by Mirallas. Young utility Brendan Galloway held his spot at left-back.
Everton XI (4-2-3-1): Howard (GK); Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Galloway; Barry, McCarthy; Mirallas, Barkley, Osman; Lukaku.
Likewise, Pochettino made one change to his team. Nabil Bentaleb filled the temporary void vacated by Danny Rose at left-back, with Moussa Dembele slotting into defensive-midfield.
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris (GK); Dier, Vertonghen, Fazio, Bentaleb; Dembele, Mason; Lamela, Erikson, Chadli; Kane.
Spurs’ midfield victory sets the tone
Even though Spurs’ winner came about from a wide area, this was a match that was played predominantly through midfield. Both teams, Tottenham in particular, were narrow across the middle, and ultimately the away side’s central trio would win the battle.
The contest was an open one, but Spurs were in control for the most part, and this was largely thanks to Dembele, Ryan Mason and Christian Eriksen.
The trio both outpossessed and outpassed their midfield counterparts Gareth Barry, James McCarthy and Ross Barkley, passing at a success rate of 87% versus 76% and creating nine chances compared to only two from the Everton trio’s two.
Pochettino counters Martinez’s moves
With Everton well and truly second best after 45 minutes, Martinez was quick to react at the break, replacing a quiet Ross Barkley at half time with Muhamed Besic. This saw the Merseysiders reshape to narrower 4-3-1-2 formation, with Besic, Barry and McCarthy across midfield, Leon Osman in the hole and Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku up front.
For the first eight minutes of the half, the move seemed to have worked wonders. Everton had more control in midfield and began to wrestle back a toehold on proceedings, looking likely to threaten Lloris’ goal.
In the 53rd minute, however, Pochettino made a change of his own, sacrificing the attack-minded Dembele, replacing him with Benjamin Stambouli, who brings a more defensive game. That change saw control swing back Spurs’ way, and from that point, never really looked like conceding.
Everton wasteful out wide
You only have to look as far as Everton’s crossing map to see why it struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
The Blues completed only one cross of 17, suffocating Lukaku and would-be strike partners Steven Naismith and Mirallas of any opportunity to find the net with their heads, an avenue to goal the club often thrives on.
Everton Conclusion
It was a dirty day for the Toffees, who were convincingly outclassed. The defeat was perhaps reminiscent of their season as a whole, one that most associated with the club would be happy has come to an end. A crucial off-season awaits the manager, who needs to take steps to address some significant weaknesses in Everton’s squad.
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Tottenham Hotspur Conclusion
In a complete contrast to their hosts, Spurs’ season came to an end on an impressive note. They hardly ever looked troubled with the exception of a brief period at the start of the second half, when even that threat was quickly hosed down. Tottenham has now locked in Europa League participation for next season, so Pochettino’s challenge now must be deepening his squad over the summer to cope with the rigours of that competition.
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