Carlo Ancelotti says Everton's undoing against Spurs was because they lost the midfield battle.
The Blues lost 1-0 to Jose Mourinho's side on Monday night with the game decided by a Michael Keane own goal mid-way through the first-half.
Ancelotti changed formation for the game and deployed an extra man in midfield with Andre Gomes selected alongside Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Davies.
But Ancelotti says the changes did not go to plan as his midfield came off second best.
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"I think we lost the game in the fight that was in the middle of the park," Ancelotti said.
"I think there we lost a lot of second balls and we were not in total control of the game. It is true that we competed until the end but we didn't create a lot of opportunities and didn't have a lot of chances.
"In the second-half the possession was better and we had more opportunities to find players between the lines but we didn't have a lot of chances. We competed but it wasn't enough."
Ancelotti added: "We tried to play with more energy in the midfield, using one midfielder more. We defended more or less the same. Offensively we were the same but with Richarlison a little bit more on the right, more than the left."
The Everton boss said the visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a crunch one in their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.
Ancelotti admits the defeat, the Blues' first since the restart, makes European qualification more complicated now.
"It is more difficult now but we are still there," he said.
"We have five games left, three at home, and we have to fight until the end."
