Ange Postecoglou appeared on the big screens with a pre-match promise to deliver festive treats to the Tottenham family and a couple of hours later they were toasting a return to the top four of the Premier League.

In between, it was far from straightforward against a spirited Everton side who were two-down inside 18 minutes but fought until the final seconds for a point, with Arnaut Danjuma striking the underside of the bar in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Spurs resisted the second-half pressure. Andre Gomes reduced the deficit but those early goals by Richarlison and Heung-min Son proved enough to win a third game in a row.

Everton’s own winning run of four games ground to a halt. Sean Dyche can take many positives from another strong display, not least the stylish return of Gomes, but were ultimately punished for a sluggish start and wastefulness in front of goal.

Tottenham took control early on, when Richarlison fired them ahead, arriving at the near post to convert a low cross from Brennan Johnson. The Brazilian forward has looked much happier since his return from surgery in November and was on target for the third game in a row. The last time he managed a run like that, he was an Everton player, back in March 2021.

Johnson was fit to play with a bandage to protect the head wound collected on his previous outing at Nottingham Forest, and almost scored the scored the second, sweeping onto a cross by Emerson Royal but lifting the chance over from six yards.

Royal had been recalled, one of two changes made by Postecoglou. He and Oliver Skipp were in for banned duo Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie.

Tottenham’s speed and mobility was exceptional and yet, as ever with them, the game was wide open and Everton created opportunities from the start. The first two fell to Dominic Calvert-Lewin. With the game goalless, he raced clear onto a pass by Dwight McNeil only for Christian Romero to make a brilliant recovery tackle.

At one down, having escaped marker Ben Davies, Calvert-Lewin miscued a header from a cross by Vitali Mykolenko. Guglielmo Vicario made a save and the misses took on added significance when Son stretched Tottenham’s lead.

Jordan Pickford saved from Johnson after a short corner routine involving Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski but Son was first to the rebound, steering it through a crowded goalmouth into a bottom corner.

It took his Premier League tally for the season to 11, one more than he managed in the whole of last season. Spurs will miss their captain when he flies off to the Asian Cup with South Korea after the next home game, against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.

The visitors lost Idrissa Gueye, injured as he committed a foul, although they improved when Gomes came on. Gomes, who spent last season on loan at Lille, made his first Everton appearance in 19 months and gave them more control in midfield.

Vicario made saves from James Garner and Jack Harrison to ensure Spurs went into half-time with a two-goal cushion and Mykolenko missed the target with another chance, one certainly made trickier by the appearance of a second ball in the penalty area.

‘Two balls and you still can’t score,’ chorused the home fans and, when they did find the net, early in the second half, the VAR came to the rescue.

Gomes won possession deep in Spurs territory from Royal as he controlled a bouncing pass from his goalkeeper. Royal was looking for the foul. As soon as there was contact, he fell and referee Stuart Attwell played on.

Gomes found Calvert-Lewin, who scored and Everton celebrated until Attwell was sent to check the replays, whereupon decided there had been enough contact on Royal to merit a foul and ruled the goal out.

Eric Dier came on at half time to replace Romero, who iced his right hamstring on the bench as Everton continued to test Tottenham’s defence.

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Garner clipped the base of a post with a fizzing drive from an angle. Pickford saved from Kulusevski before Gomes pulled one back with a fierce drive from a corner that skidded his way.

Spurs were clinging on. Vicario made yet another fine save, this time from sub Arnaut Danjuma and Davies cleared a James Tarkowski header off the line.

The last chance fell to Danjuma, a volley at the back post. There was a flag up but it was against Beto. Danjuma was on but his effort crashed into the bar, down onto Vicario’s leg and out. The goal line technology ruled it was not quite over line.

 

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Post source: Daily mail

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