Relegation-threatened Everton fought to a 1-1 draw against top-four chasing Tottenham Hotspur on the blue side of Stanley Park during a Monday night Premier League clash involving two sides who arrived motivated to reverse their respective fortunes in the wake of Spurs parting ways with Antonio Conte.
And breathe 😅
An eventful second half sees Everton claim a vital point at the death 🤝#BBCFootball #EVETOT pic.twitter.com/abetxdR1Gs
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 3, 2023
On a night when the two combatants ideally needed three points to address their respective situations at either end of the table, Everton managed to generate more chances than Tottenham despite Spurs’ dominance in possession across the opening forty-five minutes.
The north London side did find the biggest chances of the match, particularly through out-of-form Son Heung-min, who remains out of touch in front of goal despite the managerial change after the departure of Conte during the recent international break. Neither side was able to break the nil-nil deadlock before heading into their respective changing rooms, with both sides still on the hunt for a reason to smile in a turbulent 2022-23.
Sean Dyche’s men opened the door for Spurs to find a match-opener when veteran midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré was given his marching orders after receiving a straight red in the 58th minute. Though there are suggestions that Kane embellished during the incident that saw the Malian international sent off, he can hardly complain too much after putting his hand in the England star’s face.
Spurs earned a penalty eight minutes later after Cristian Romero was taken down in the box after just beating Michael Keane to a loose ball, with the World Cup winner going down after the contact, with Kane stepping up to slam home the penalty past his international colleague Jordan Pickford to send Spurs in front for the first time in the post-Conte era.
Despite being a man down, the Toffees were spurned on by expectant home support at Goodison Park to find an equalizer in a bid to improve their chances of avoiding relegation, with Michael Keane nearly equalizing in the 76th minute from a headed effort, but it could only find its way into Hugo Lloris’ safe hands.
WOW! 🤯
Just moments after Lucas Moura saw red, Michael Keane scores an absolute rocket! 🚀pic.twitter.com/wRQ9c7QejX
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 3, 2023
It was a goal of massive significance for both sides, with Everton temporarily climbing out of the bottom three come full-time while also denying Tottenham a chance to rise up to third in the table, with Spurs now sitting level on 50 points with both Newcastle United and Manchester United, ahead of the Red Devils on goal difference but still trailing the Magpies.
📰 Table Of Contents
Key Stats & Performers
Michael Keane’s game by numbers vs. Spurs:
92% pass accuracy
49 touches
36 passes
9 passes into final ⅓
6 duels won
4 touches in opp. box
4 aerial duels won
4 clearances
3 shots
2 shots on target
1 penalty conceded
1 goal scoredFrom zero to hero. 👏 pic.twitter.com/NyrEkMO0Oz
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 3, 2023
Harry Kane has now been directly involved in 250 Premier League goals:
◎ 311 games
◉ 205 goals
◎ 45 assistsOnly five players in the competition’s history have been involved in more. pic.twitter.com/IIsVD0G2Di
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 3, 2023
Everton Player Ratings
- GK: Jordan Pickford – 6
- RB: Séamus Coleman – 6
- RCB: Michael Keane – 8.5
- LCB: James Tarkowski – 7.5
- LB: Ben Godfrey – 7
- DM: Idrissa Gueye – 7
- RM: Alex Iwobi – 7
- RCM: Abdoulaye Doucouré – 5
- LCM: Amadou Onana – 7
- LM: Dwight McNeil – 6.5
- CF: Demarai Gray – 6.5
- Sub: Ellis Simms – 6
- Sub: Vitalii Mykolenko – 7
- Sub: Tom Davies – 6
- Sub: James Garner – 6
Tottenham Player Ratings
- GK: Hugo Lloris – 7
- RCB: Cristian Romero – 7
- CB: Eric Dier – 6.5
- LCB: Clément Lenglet – 7
- RWB: Pedro Porro – 6.5
- LWB: Ivan Perišić – 7
- RCM: Oliver Skipp – 6
- LCM: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 7
- RAM: Dejan Kulusevski – 6.5
- LAM: Son Heung-min – 6
- CF: Harry Kane – 7
- Sub: Davinson Sánchez – 6
- Sub: Lucas Moura – 4
