It was another chastening afternoon for Tottenham (Image: Getty)
misery continued as Tottenham slumped to a fifth defeat in six outings on a sorry afternoon at Goodison Park.
Postecoglou rolled the dice before kick-off by deploying a back-three, but it didn’t take long for Everton to leave their mark on an already bruised Spurs defence, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin wriggling his way into the box and slotting home the opening goal after just 13 minutes.
If Calvert-Lewin’s opener was classy, the hosts’ second courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye was brutish. The in-form attacker ran half the length of the pitch, and turned Radu Dragusin inside out, before walloping the ball into the roof of the net.
Everton continued to threaten throughout a blistering first half and were rewarded for their persistence just before the break when Archie Gray – rather unfortunately – converted into his own net to make it 3-0 at the interval.
While they were able to stop the leak in the second half, it took until the 77th minute for Spurs to find the back of the net themselves. A dinked finish from Dejan Kulusevski ensured ‘s impressive scoring run extended to 12 consecutive matches, with Richarlison adding a second in added time.
It wasn’t enough to rescue a point though, as the pressure continues to mount on Postecoglou.
Express Sport hand out player ratings after ‘s latest drubbing…
Antonin Kinsky – 7
It’s safe to say the youngster has already made an impression and without his sharp saves in the first half, Spurs could’ve easily been more than 3-0 down at the break. Less said about his work with the ball the better though…
Pedro Porro – 5
Mesmerising in the final third, horrifying in the defensive one. Pedro Porro’s defensive limitations continue to harm an already stretched Spurs backline.
Archie Gray – 4
Spurs’ shortcomings are by no means his fault, not least because he’s being deployed at centre-half. That being said, he couldn’t sort his feet out for the first-half own-goal and was given the runaround by Everton’s attackers all afternoon.
Radu Dragusin endured a torrid afternoon on Merseyside (Image: Getty)
Radu Dragusin – 3
It was a monumentally bad afternoon for the Romanian international, who was hooked at half-time by Postecoglou. Bamboozled for the opening goal, humiliated for the second and in no man’s land for the third, it’s a miracle he even made it as far as half-time.
Ben Davies – 5
Quite the return for Ben Davies, who had been missing from ‘s starting XI since early December. The 31-year-old struggled to slot straight back in would’ve been thankful for the referee’s full-time whistle.
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Djed Spence – 6
Another player deployed out of position, but all things considered, Djed Spece will leave Goodison Park with his head held high. Gave as good as he got in the left-wing-back role.
Pape Matar Sarr – 5
He is guilty of running around like a headless chicken at times, but Pape Matar Sarr will likely point to the lack of protection around him for Spurs’ midfield misery.
Lucas Bergvall – 6
It’s impossible to fault Lucas Bergvall’s effort, given he’s always on the move and does provide the necessary energy to Spurs’ midfield. The 18-year-old has plenty of time on his side.
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James Maddison was ineffective against Everton (Image: Getty)
James Maddison – 3
Went missing when his team needed him the most. Not the impression James Maddison was hoping to leave on new England boss Thomas Tuchel, who was watching on from the stands. Had the chance to make amends midway through the first half when the ball sat up for him on the edge of the box. He couldn’t even hit the target.
Son Heung-min – 3
Whether it’s fatigue or otherwise, the South Korean ace looked a shell of himself during the Goodison Park drubbing. He did have the chance to draw level in the first half, but could only send a tame effort straight into the palms of Jordan Pickford between the Everton sticks.
Dejan Kulusevski – 7
Spurs’ best player and by some distance too. A step ahead of his team-mates at times and the only man in white who looked like making something positive happen. It was no surprise the first goal came from him and if this slump continues throughout the rest of the season, could have a hard time convincing the Swede to stick around.
Son Heung-min struggled to leave his mark yet again (Image: Getty)
Subs:
Richarlison – 6
A goal late in added-time saved some face for Richarlison, who had been anonymous for most of the second half after coming off the bench at the break. Needs to show more of that if he’s to make a serious claim for a spot on the starting line-up.
Mikey Moore – 7
The youngster added energy off the bench and made a decent case for him to be involved more in the starting XI. His cross to the back post for Richarlison’s goal was straight out of the top drawer.