Tottenham thrash Everton in thrilling encounter
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Tottenham Hotspur showed the Premier League title race might not be just a two-horse affair with a hugely impressive 6-2 win at Everton on Sunday with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min both scoring twice.
Everton took the lead in the 21st minute when Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled the ball back to Theo Walcott who turned it past Hugo Lloris.
After Calvert-Lewin had a header harshly ruled out, Spurs drew level from an awful mix-up between Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and defender Kurt Zouma with South Korean Son doing well from a tight angle to curl the ball into the unguarded goal.
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs grabbed the lead in the 35th minute when Dele Alli drilled home the ball after Son's shot was parried by Pickford.
Three minutes before the break, the visitors made it 3-1 when a Kieran Trippier free kick flew out off the post straight to Kane who gleefully converted.
Christian Eriksen made it 41 in the 48th minute when Kane's shot was blocked by Seamus Coleman and the Dane showed great technique as he drove the ball past Pickford from 20 metres out.
Everton responded though, three minutes later, with Gylfi Sigurdsson cutting across the edge of the area and reversing a shot into the bottom corner.
Any hope of an Everton revival was short-lived however as substitute Erik Lamela slipped in the superb Son who confidently drove past Pickford to make it 5-2.
The irrepressible Son then created the sixth, with his perfectly delivered cross from the left met with a textbook finish by the sliding Kane. Reuters
PREVIEW
What time does it start?
Everton vs Tottenham kicks off at 4pm (GMT)
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels from 3:30pm. Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the game via the SkyGo app.
The match will also be available on NOW TV by grabbing a day pass for just £7.99.
Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm on BBC One.
Player to watch…
Dele Alli: The England midfielder was at his very best at Arsenal as he masterminded their EFL quarter-final win over the Gunners in midweek. Having played a perfectly-weighted ball over the top for Son Heung-min for the opener, he then impudently scored the second after receiving a similar ball from Harry Kane to the one he had played. He responded amusingly to the bottle being thrown at him, and will need to put in similar performances if Spurs are to keep their title hopes alive.
Form guide…
Everton: DWLDDL
Tottenham: LWWDWW
Odds…
Everton to win: 23/10
Tottenham to win: 5/4
Draw: 47/20
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
Harry will be along for all the team news and build-up from 3pm ahead of Everton vs Tottenham. In the meantime here's the latest from the Spurs camp:
Good afternoon all...
The pre-Christmas Premier League action concludes at Goodison Park this afternoon, as Tottenham travel to Merseyside to meet Everton.
The home side can go seventh with a win, while Spurs will be keen to consolidate their position with both Arsenal and Chelsea dropping points in the last week.
Team news from Goodison Park is about five minutes away...
Team News
Marco Silva's Everton line up like this. They make two changes, with Tom Davies and Theo Walcott returning to the team, Silva reverting to a more familiar system after using a five-at-the-back formation against Manchester City last week.
Team News
Harry Kane returns up front for Tottenham after struggling with a cold ahead of the midweek win over rivals Arsenal. Hugo Lloris also returns to the side after missing out on the Carabao Cup quarter-final, while there is a welcome return for Davinson Sanchez at the back, too.
And if you'd prefer the teams in text form:
Everton: Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, Kurt Zouma, Lucas Digne; Tom Davies, Andre Gomes; Theo Walcott, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison; Dominic Calvert Lewin.
Tottenham: Hugo Lloris; Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez, Ben Davies; Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Christian Eriksen; Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son; Harry Kane.
With Jose Mourinho departing Manchester United this week, Mauricio Pochettino has been widely pointed to as a potential long-term managerial target at the club.
Therefore the journalists assembled at Pochettino's press conference were no doubt ready to direct questions on the Argentinian's future to the Tottenham manager. However, the club's press officer was not keen for the conversation to venture down this avenue, blocking questions from reporters.
The Independent's Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney was there:
His opposite number this afternoon, Marco Silva, will know his team can go 7th with victory this afternoon, though a particularly bad defeat will drop them to 12th, such is the nature of the congested mid-table area.
Everton have struggled against those above them in recent seasons with just five wins from their last 65 games against the Premier League's heaviest hitters, but Silva believes his side have the quality to challenge the 'Big Six':
Moussa Sissoko has finally emerged as the midfield force Spurs hoped they were buying when they spent £30 million on the Frenchman two-and-a-half years ago.
With Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama sidelined through injury and Eric Dier absent after an appendix removal, Sissoko has forged a promising partnership with Harry Winks and found his best form since joining the club from Newcastle.
He makes his 100th Tottenham appearance this afternoon.
Two of the Premier League's better playmakers, and indeed former Spurs teammates, duel today.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has found some goalscoring form during the first half of the Premier League season, with six goals thus far, and could be influential if Everton are to best his former club.
Christian Eriksen highlighted how important he is to Mauricio Pochettino's side with a crucial winner late on against Burnley last week. The Dane is irreplaceable in the Tottenham team, knitting things together consistently and brilliantly in midfield and is so often the catalyst for their goalscoring movements.
Key men.
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