Andy Hunter was at Goodison tonight, and his verdict is in. Click below for his report ... and thanks for reading this one. Nighty night!
Carlo Ancelotti finally gets his turn to speak to Sky. “We should have won. We played a good game. It was maybe the best game we played at home this season. We were unlucky and we made mistakes, and when you make them against Harry Kane you are condemned. It is a disappointing result but not a disappointing performance so we have more difficulties to reach Europe but we have to keep fighting. If we play like we did tonight we still have possibilities. We pressed well and were aggressive. We had a lot of opportunities. We still have possibilities. I am sure. I am convinced.”
And he’s given the opportunity to respond to that Paul Pogba interview. “I would like to say that I couldn’t care less with what he says. I couldn’t care less. Not interested. At all.”
As for the rest of the performance, Jose? “It was a game against two teams with lots of similarities. We are very similar teams in many aspects. Teams are capable of scoring goals, and that concede two. both teams tried to win it. It was probably a fair result. It was not easy to keep the ball due to pressing.” He’s then asked about the Everton penalty decision. After a four-second pause, a knowing smile. “I am not going to comment. I just laugh. You know this silly smile.”
Jose Mourinho reports on Harry Kane. “I think it’s too early to say something. For him to leave the pitch at 2-2 with a couple of minutes to go, he obviously felt something. But let me be optimistic and believe that he has time to recover. Let’s see. Let me be optimistic and believe that it is nothing serious. It is obvious he is a very important player for us, that is more than obvious. But I cannot say much. I cannot speculate or help in speculation.”
Kane really did go over on that ankle. Fingers crossed it’s not too bad. Some better news for the Spurs striker: his two-goal haul today has taken him into seventh place in the all-time Premier League top scorers list. His total of 164 is only bettered by Alan Shearer (260), Wayne Rooney (208), Andy Cole (187), Sergio Aguero (181), Frank Lampard (177) and Thierry Henry (175). Yes, I’m aware that football wasn’t invented with the advent of the Premier League in 1992. I think someone wrote a book about that once.
A clearly disappointed Eric Dier speaks. “First half we did well, we started well and got our goal. We conceded a poor goal, we’re disappointed with both goals, both cutbacks, we need to do better in these areas. I feel that 2-2 was fair, they had a few good chances at the end. We gave away possession a bit too easily. In general we need to keep the ball better and play better. At times we were a bit too hesitant in possession. We played the three at the back well, we were offensive and aggressive, we did quite well in that formation. It’s always worrying when you see Harry Kane limping because he doesn’t fall over easily. It’s obviously early days to say how bad it is, but he’s a tough boy and will do as good as he can to be ready [for the final]. We need to finish as strongly as we can, we owe it to the fans, it’s about pride.”
That result keeps Spurs in seventh on 50 points, and Everton in eighth with 49. Spurs have played 32 matches, but everyone else in the hunt for a European place has played just 31. With Manchester City and Manchester United seemingly a shoo-in for the top two spots, you’d expect positions three and four to be decided by Leicester (56 pts), West Ham (55), Chelsea (54) and Liverpool (52) ... though nobody at Spurs or Everton will be giving up the chase quite yet.
FULL TIME: Everton 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
That’s it! A draw that’s probably about right ... but not much good for either team as they chase a top-four finish. And there’s concern for Harry Kane, who limps off to the dressing room with the League Cup final just a week away.
90 min +3: Rodriguez tries to thread a shot goalwards through a thicket of white shirts. It’s always heading wide left. He grimaces, Everton’s last chance to secure a precious win surely gone.
90 min +2: Kane has taken a whack on his right ankle. Or is it the top of his foot? Richarlison landed on it during that melee at the corner. He limps off gingerly, replaced by Alli.
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90 min +1: Corner for Everton down the left. Rodriguez swings it in. Rodon has a handful of Keane’s shirt, but the referee isn’t interested in giving a dramatic penalty.
90 min: This game was awful for the first 26 minutes. It’s been wonderful fun ever since. Such a shame there will only be three extra minutes. Can’t we have 33 instead?
89 min: Rodriguez and Digne combine to win a corner down the left. Keane comes up with a view to finding redemption for his mistakes by scoring the winner, but only succeeds in giving away a needless free kick.
88 min: Rodriguez hits a long diagonal towards Digne out on the left. Digne hooks back, hoping to find Richarlison in the middle, but Aurier and Sissoko are both quickly onto the cross and combine to clear.
86 min: Spurs, having sensed Everton taking control during the last few minutes, slow the pace down. Given they also need the win, and with time running out, it’s a dangerous gambit, but needs must.
84 min: Coleman has a go from the best part of 30 yards. He drags it miles wide left and has the good grace to look bashful. But Everton quickly come again. Rodriguez slips a ball down the inside-right channel for King, whose first-time low shot is kicked clear by Lloris. The ball breaks to Richarlison, who tries to power into an unguarded goal, but leans back and blazes over.
83 min: Everton replace Davies with King.
82 min: Lamela nearly breaks clear down the middle with a determined power dribble. He loses control at the last, the ball squirting through to Lloris.
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81 min: A draw’s no good to either side, really. Both teams will surely go for the win. So it’s worth pointing out that no team has dropped more points in the final ten minutes of matches this season. They’ve shipped 11; the next worst offenders are Liverpool and Brighton with eight.
80 min: Some room for Kane, sent running towards the Everton box down the left by Son. He cuts inside and goes for the bottom left, the ball ricocheting between Godfrey’s legs and into Pickford’s grateful arms.
78 min: A little bit of space opens up for Davies now, 25 yards from the Spurs goal, but he elects not to shoot and the chance to put Lloris to work is gone. “I swear Everton is cursed,” writes Mary Waltz. “A ball off the backside straight to Kane and a goal. Arrrggghhh!!!”
76 min: Space for Lamela to run into down the middle. Keane backs off and backs off, inviting Lamela to shoot. Which he does, albeit deep into the stand. Spurs look the more likely right now.
74 min: Replays show that, after the free kick on 70 minutes, Coleman and Rodon exchanged philosophical positions in the full and frank style. No idea what that was about, but the Everton captain went looking for his man and wasn’t happy at all.
72 min: Yep, pretty much anything. Moura wedges in from the left. Kane helps the ball on with a deft header that loops towards the top right, beats the fully-extended Pickford, but bruises the outside of the post. Goal kick. Good luck guessing how this is going to end!
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70 min: Coleman hares down the right and is stopped by Moura and Sissoko. Illegally, it turns out. Sigurdsson whips the free kick straight into Lloris’s hands. Anything could happen here.
GOAL! Everton 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Kane 68)
Another Everton defensive calamity! Lamela crosses from the right. Keane’s clearing header smacks Godfrey on the seat of his pants and rebounds to Kane, who larrups a first-time effort into the top left! Some finish, but dearie me. Keane is having a nightmare.
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66 min: Tell you what, that Sigurdsson strike had certain similarities with one of the most famous goals ever scored at Goodison: János Farkas of Hungary against Brazil at the 1966 World Cup. OK, OK, different corner, but allow us a little leeway, there’s a very similar feel to the goal, nonetheless.
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64 min: Spurs respond by making a double change. Lamela and Moura come on for Ndombele and Reguilon, the latter angrily throwing his jacket down in disgust as he takes his seat on the bench.
STUNNING GOAL! Everton 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Sigurdsson 62)
This is a marvellous goal. Coleman immediately gets involved, one-twoing with Richarlison at speed down the right, and pulling back low and hard for Sigurdsson. The Iceland international rushes into the box and meets the cross first time, opening his body and sidefooting powerfully into the left-hand side of the net. That is an absolute peach of a goal. What a move! What a finish!
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61 min: Iwobi is replaced by the aforementioned Coleman.
60 min: A ball is shovelled straight down the middle of the park by the quarterbacking Rodriguez. Richarlison is free! He slots into the bottom left, but the flag goes up and the whistle blows. He was yards offside.
59 min: A slight lull, during which Everton prepare to send on their captain Seamus Coleman.
57 min: Spurs go close twice in the space of a minute. First Ndombele has a whack from 20 yards. His effort is deflected and balloons over the stranded Pickford, but just over te bar. And then from the corner, Alderweireld heads powerfully towards the top right. It’s just wide, shaving the outside of the post. Pickford probably had that covered, but he was scrambling.
55 min: Reguilon cuts in from the left and bombs down the channel. He makes up a good 40 yards in the blink of an eye, before being clattered fairly by Davies’ sliding tackle. That was a barnstorming run. Reguilon’s great to watch when he gets a head of steam.
54 min: Godfrey chests the ball down, 30 yards from the Spurs goal. It drops almost perfectly for a spectacular Le Tissieresque volley ... but not quite. Godfrey attempts it anyway, and it’s blocked with ease. Full marks for ambition, though.
52 min: Son has been quiet so far. But this is wonderful, as he drops a shoulder to waltz past Keane down the left. That’s far too easy; Keane’s not having the best of games so far. Son tries to trick Pickford at his near post from a tight angle. The keeper parries and pushes around the post. The corner leads to some pinball, with Everton’s defence at sixes and sevens, but nothing breaks for Spurs and eventually the hosts clear.
50 min: So having said that, here come Spurs! Some space for Kane down the left. He slips in Dier on his outside. Dier stands one up to the far post, where Digne is forced to head over his own bar. Nothing comes of the corner, but this is much better from Spurs, who have woken up after a long period half-asleep.
48 min: Rodriguez takes. Rodon clanks it out. Take two. Rodriguez takes again. Richarlison wins a header, but flashes it miles over the bar. Still, the home side will be happy with how the second period has begun; they’re in the ascendency, just as they were before the break.
47 min: Everton settle into the half quickly, keeping hold of the ball, knocking it hither and yon. Eventually a corner’s won down the left.
Everton get the second half underway. No changes.
During the half-time break, Jamie Redknapp ran the penalty incident on Sky’s super-slow-mo kit. Reguilon did indeed clip Rodriguez, very gently, a step or so before the Everton man went down. A soft one, but fair nonetheless. It was also instructive that Reguilon made no effort whatsoever to plead his innocence with the ref, merely hanging his head in sorrow.
Half-time penalty patter.
“That’s VAR done right. After numerous showings you can’t tell definitively either way. So the ref’s decision stands. There should be no complaints, but there will be” - Joe Worrall.
“That’s a penalty. James knew he was going to get crunched and he was. Reguilon didn’t even argue about it. Slowing down it down is sometimes the worst” - Ruth Purdue.
Other opinions are available elsewhere on the internet.
HALF TIME: Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
For the best part of half an hour, this was a thundering non-event. Then Spurs took the lead through Harry Kane, before conceding a controversial penalty a couple of minutes later. Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised, after which Everton ran the show. They’ll be slightly sad to hear the half-time whistle, but the break’s come at exactly the right moment for Spurs, who need to regroup and rethink.
45 min +2: Richarlison is sent on a power dribble down the inside-left, another clever pass by Rodriguez. Rodon and Alderweireld close the door. Richarlison goes over, in some pain having turned his ankle. Best get some ice on that during the break.
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45 min +1: A free kick for Everton out on the left. Rodriguez swings it in deep. Rodon opts not to engage, allowing Godfrey to steal in at the back stick. Spurs are extremely fortunate that the ball doesn’t arrive at perfect height for Godfrey, who can’t keep his header down. Close, though.
45 min: There will be a minimum of three extra first-half minutes.
44 min: Harry Kane is now joint-seventh all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, alongside Robbie Fowler on 163 goals. Yes, yes, there was plenty of football before 1992, but there’s nothing much going on at the minute, so there you are.
42 min: Richarlison tries a curler towards the top right again. This one’s deflected out for a corner. Richarlison meets the outswinging corner and attempts a header towards the top left. Lloris gathers that one easily enough.
40 min: They’ve replayed the penalty incident again. It’s really difficult to spot whether Reguilon made contact or not. Expect to hear more of this, depending on tonight’s result.
38 min: Now there’s some room for Rodriguez down the middle. He’s found just inside the box, and smashes his shot straight at Lloris. Either side, and that was surely a goal. Spurs are suddenly all over the place, while Everton are first to everything.
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37 min: Rodriguez sends a speculative effort towards the bottom left from distance. Lloris saves. Everton come straight back at them, Dier’s poor clearance intercepted by Sigurdsson, Iwobi having a bash from just inside the box. Spurs survive.
36 min: Kane tries to beat Pickford from the halfway line. It’s always flying wide right, but there’s respect for your England team-mates for you.
34 min: Everton have their tails up now. Richarlison is shoved over by Hojbjerg, just to the left of the Spurs D. Free kick for the hosts in a very dangerous position. Sigurdsson looks for the top-left corner, but only smashes a witless effort straight into the wall.
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32 min: Well it didn’t take long for the hosts to get back into that ... although there’s a suggestion the penalty was very soft. Did Rodriguez kick the floor? Or did his movement instigate the contact? Difficult to say, even on repeated viewing, which may explain VAR’s reluctance to get involved. Clear and obvious error, all that.
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GOAL! Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Sigurdsson 31 pen)
Sigurdsson gives Lloris the eyes. He slots into the bottom right as the keeper dives the other way.
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Penalty for Everton!
30 min: A chance for Everton to get straight back into it! Sigurdsson crosses low from the left. Rodriguez prepares to trap and shoot, but Reguilon clips him from behind and the ref points straight to the spot.
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29 min: Spurs had done nothing in attack until then. But that’s Harry Kane for you.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Kane 27)
Out of nothing! Ndombele crosses from the left. Keane goes up to head clear, but can only gently eyebrow the ball, which continues on its way. It drops at the feet of Kane, eight yards out, totally unmarked! Kane takes a careful touch, swivels and dispatches a crisp shot into the bottom left, Pickford stranded and with no chance.
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26 min: Now Aurier tugs Digne’s shirt from behind. A little nibble at the ankle too? Hard to tell. Either way, this is a duel to keep an eye on.
24 min: Aurier is down holding his shin, having been clattered by Digne. Play stops as he gets some attention. When the sting of impact subsides, the Spurs full back is good to go again.
22 min: The first decent move of the match, as Rodriguez finds a yard down the middle and slips a pass down the inside-left channel to release Richarlison. The striker takes a touch, opens his body, and curls towards the bottom right. Lloris is down to parry clear. Lovely pass, decent shot, fine save. Great football all round, and the first serious work either keeper has had to do.
21 min: Yep, play stops and Davies goes in the referee’s notebook. One each now.
20 min: Davies slides in late on Ndombele. The ref waves play on. Spurs go nowhere. I wonder whether Davies will be booked when play finally stops? Spurs would have preferred the free kick, given how it all panned out.
18 min: Godfrey sticks an arm across Sissoko’s neck as the pair tussle down the Spurs left. A garden-variety foul, nothing more, though the volume of Sissoko’s yell encouraged Kane to have a word with the referee. It’s all a bit of an over-reaction; Michael Oliver isn’t interested in escalating things, and we play on.
16 min: This has been a total non-event so far. Perhaps understandably so, with the stakes so high; the loser tonight can surely forget about any top-four finish. Both teams carefully sounding each other out.
14 min: Everton are enjoying the lion’s share of possession, though they’re doing very little with it. Spurs seem quite happy to sit back and let them be about their business.
12 min: Richarlison executes a couple of cute rollovers and dragbacks to wriggle out of a tight spot on the left. It’s lovely skill, but he then sends a crossfield diagonal to nobody in particular, and the ball dribbles out for a goal kick.
11 min: Davies tries to send Iwobi clear down the right. A fizzed pass would do it, but he scoops a gentle one upfield instead, and Reguilon is able to come across and smother his opponent.
9 min: Two-pass sequences are at a premium right now. In the dugout, Jose keeps his head down, scribbling in a notebook. Maybe he’s finally started on that novel. And why not, might as well fill the time during these uneventful early exchanges.
7 min: The first booking of the evening as Hojbjerg cynically cuddles Sigurdsson as the Everton man threatened to break into space down the inside-left. Just the 83 minutes on a booking remain for the combative midfielder.
6 min: It’s been a high-octane start, without too much in the way of quality or drama so far.
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5 min: Sigurdsson attempts an ambitious curler towards the top right of Lloris’s goal. The ball nestles in the top corner of the Park End Stand.
4 min: A couple of neat and determined combinations between Digne and Richarlison down the left. Nothing comes of them, but the pair look in a lively mood.
2 min: Spurs do indeed load the box, but dearie me, what a waste of effort, as Reguilon clanks a dismal free kick over everyone’s head and harmlessly out for a goal kick.
1 min: Spurs are on the front foot immediately, Son barging his way down the right. He’s eventually bowled over by Davies, and this is an early opportunity for Spurs to load the box.
First up, a period of silence in memory of Prince Phillip. Then Spurs get the ball rolling, but only after the players take a knee of solidarity and love. There’s no room for racism. Challenge it. Report it. Change it. Kick it out.
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A siren sounds, the theme to Z Cars fills the air, and the teams take to the pitch. Everton are in their famous royal blue, Spurs wear their equally storied lilywhite. Mourinho and Ancelotti embrace warmly. We’ll be off in a minute!
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Don Carlo speaks to Sky. “The presence of Jordan Pickford and Allan gives us more power. Andre Gomes trained with the team but he was not so comfortable and I prefer to wait a little bit to be ready for the next game. Seamus Coleman played really hard against Brighton and so I wanted to get some fresh legs. We are in a fight like Tottenham and other teams, we need to get results. It is a really important game, but so are the other games we have to play. It will not be the last chance. But it will be important to win and I hope we understand this.”
Jose Mourinho talks to Sky. “I am just looking for tonight. I am not thinking about the League Cup final. We have to try the maximum number of points in the Premier League and see where we end. Next week after Southampton we will think about the final. The objective is to win this game. It is not to defend anything, that is not the point. We are going to try to be aggressive and intense and leave our most prolific attacking players in a situation where they don’t have to think too much about defensive organisation and to give them some freedom to try to hurt.”
Incidentally, tonight’s MBM is brought to you by ...
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Nope, there’ll be no mention of any dog-branded Official Paint Supplier in this report. Bloody goddamn effing corporate Twitter accounts trying out stand-up bits. It’s just not on.
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Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti makes three changes to the side that was slightly fortunate to get away with a goalless draw at Brighton. Jordan Pickford returns in goal, replacing Robin Olsen, while Allan and Alex Iwobi take the places of the benched Seamus Coleman and the injured Yerry Mina.
Spurs supremo Jose Mourinho makes two changes to the starting XI named for the ultimately comprehensive home loss to Manchester United. Moussa Sissoko and Toby Alderweireld step up, while Giovani Lo Celso and Lucas Moura drop to the bench.
The teams
Everton: Pickford, Holgate, Keane, Godfrey, Digne, Allan, Davies, Rodriguez, Iwobi, Sigurdsson, Richarlison.
Subs: King, Nkounkou, Coleman, Virginia, Olsen, Broadhead, John, Price, Welch.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Dier, Alderweireld, Rodon, Aurier, Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Sissoko, Reguilon, Son, Kane.
Subs: Sanchez, Winks, Bale, Lamela, Hart, Lo Celso, Alli, Tanganga, Lucas Moura.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Preamble
Everton and Tottenham aren’t quite yet drinking in the last-chance saloon … but it’s getting close to time and the landlord doesn’t seem much in the mood for a lock-in. Win this match tonight – a draw isn’t really much good for anyone – and you’ll still have a shot of making the top four. Lose, though, and you’ll probably – probably – find yourself too far behind, with too many other teams ahead of you, and too few games left.
Hopefully this state of affairs will guarantee a rollercoaster rumble, another all-or-nothing slugfest like that FA Cup game here a couple of months ago. Or maybe Spurs will nick an early goal, allowing Jose to park his Fun Bus against a side who have been struggling to find the net at home, Everton having scored just four goals in their last six matches at Goodison, four in their last seven overall.
Spurs aren’t exactly in top form themselves. They wilted against Manchester United last weekend, shipped a late equaliser at Newcastle the week before, and have recently lost the North London derby and crashed out of Europe in embarrassing circumstances. But there’s a League Cup final coming up, so you’d imagine everyone will be champing at the bit to secure their place in the starting XI for that.
So with both teams regrouping a little bit in the face of adversity, this one looks very much in the balance. And with that Champions League place still a genuine possibility, there’s plenty to play for. The last three matches between these two here have ended 5-4, 1-1 and 2-6; more of that sort of behaviour tonight would be most acceptable indeed. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm BST.
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