Tottenham 0-1 Everton: Five Things We Learned

The new Premier League campaign got underway this weekend, and while we saw a string of interesting results go down on Saturday, there was also a lot to like on Sunday.

Everton made the trip down to London in order to take on Tottenham Hotspur, and they managed to come away with a really important three points as they secured a 1-0 win against the 2019 Champions League finalists. Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the things we took away from the game.

The Ancelotti effect

Whether it be the new signings or the style in which they played, there’s no denying the impact that Carlo Ancelotti is having – and will continue to have – at Goodison Park. Allan, Doucoure and most importantly Rodriguez all put in solid shifts, and Everton seemed to be in complete control from the very first whistle. In truth, you could argue that they were unlucky not to win by more.

Calvert-Lewin’s confidence

Dominic Calvert-Lewin hasn’t always been pinpointed as the stereotypical idea of a great top flight forward, but he definitely showed a few positive traits last season for the Toffees. The hope was that he would be able to really learn and develop further under both Ancelotti and Duncan Ferguson, and judging by his fantastic header that won the game for Everton, we’d argue this strategy is starting to pay off.

Purely negative

If you’d have watched the final half an hour of this game, you would’ve thought Everton were the ones going in search of an equaliser. We couldn’t quite believe how lethargic Tottenham seemed to be even when they fell behind, to the point where it was near enough impossible to figure out where a goal was going to come from. Maybe that’s just a one-off, or more worryingly, maybe that’s what Spurs fans need to learn to accept from now on.

Alli struggles yet again

We’ve touched on the type of gameplan that Jose Mourinho seemed to have heading into this clash, but more specifically we feel like it’s important to note the issues that Dele Alli had from the first minute until he was subbed off. The England international simply cannot rediscover the kind of form that put him on the map a few years back, and we’re getting to the point now where it seems unlikely that he’s going to find that creative touch again – whilst Jose is still there, at least.

Six points from two?

Right now Everton are priced as the 13/25 favourites with 888sport to beat West Bromwich Albion in their second game of the Premier League season, and Toffees fans around the world have earned the right to feel confident. With two more winnable match-ups against Crystal Palace and Brighton to follow, they have a great chance of picking up 10 to 12 points before they meet Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Spurs, on the other hand, really do need to get themselves together because they’ve got the small issue of a trip down to the South Coast to face Southampton next weekend – after they play Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League.