LATEST NEWS

The Verdict: Everton Energy Stokes Goodison Support

Everton played with energy and purpose against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, recording a third clean sheet this term and preventing Spurs from aiming a single shot on target.

The goal that would have secured a four-place Premier League jump for Rafa Benitez’s team wouldn't come – but the point banked applied a punctuation mark to a run of three straight defeats.

Indeed, this was more like the quick and combative Everton we saw in the opening months of the campaign when Benitez’s side claimed 14 points from seven matches.

Here, evertonfc.com identifies some of the major talking points from a harum-scarum Goodison Park encounter.


So Solid Blues

Jordan Pickford has unquestionably been one of Everton’s standout performers of late. But it’s fair to assume the goalkeeper won’t mind if we confess, we barely noticed him on Sunday.

This was a 50th Everton clean sheet in all competitions for Pickford and none of the previous 49 were as straightforward as this milestone shutout.

The goalkeeper didn’t have a save to make as Everton threw a blue blanket over Harry Kane and the jet-heeled forward pair of Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura.

Michael Keane signalled Everton’s intent when he invaded Kane’s territory to prevent the striker turning on halfway inside 15 seconds.


Kane would have been grateful to come up for air at full-time after being starved of oxygen during a frenetic contest.

Fabian Delph sat steadfastly in front of Everton’s defence, restricting the supply lines to Tottenham’s forwards. The 31-year-old, in tandem with Allan, was forever jostling and nudging and disrupting to deny the visiting midfielders time to choose their passes.

When Spurs did get at Everton’s backline, they were met by firm resistance in the form of Keane and Ben Godfrey.

Keane’s five interceptions – three more than any other player on the field – were representative of a player defending with intent and aggression, extinguishing problems at source.

Godfrey, whose assertive display was especially encouraging as the player pursues match sharpness following a debilitating brush with COVID, confirmed the plan was to ambush Spurs.

“We wanted to be on the front foot and get the fans behind us,” said the 23-year-old.

“These fans love it when you’re getting stuck in, putting in tackles and setting the tempo of the game.”


Godfrey has read Goodison right in his relatively brief time at the Club and he was routinely one step ahead of Tottenham’s forwards.

Everton’s control of the game – specifically the manner in which Spurs were kept a safe distance from goal – was underlined by the areas in which the contest unfolded.

Despite having more of the ball – 55.2 percent – Spurs spent only 20.3 percent of the game in Everton’s defensive third.

Nearly a third of the match – 32.7 percent – was played out in the away side’s defensive third. Pickford, meanwhile, watched with the rest of us.

Delph Conducts Everton Rhythm

Rafa Benitez underscored his desire to accelerate the recovery process for stricken players with the appointment last month of Cristian Fernandez as Rehabilitation Fitness Coach.

In the slender figure of Fabian Delph, controlling the flow and speed of this game in his 60 minutes on the field, we saw first-hand why Benitez is so keen for the Goodison treatment room to gather dust.

Delph’s introduction at Wolves on Monday gave Everton a foothold in a game that was slipping away – and if Benitez’s team took anything from Molineux, it was a semblance of momentum following a much-improved second-half showing.


Everton capitalised on that impetus against Spurs and it was Delph responsible for making a lot of the running.

The former Aston Villa player is renowned for his spikiness, a readiness to put his foot in, and there was no shortage of aggression this weekend.

He made three tackles and three interceptions and recovered possession six times, preventing Spurs from locating any form of attacking rhythm.

But it was when moving cleverly into space to receive the ball and transfer possession that Delph really excelled.

His passing – long and short – was terrific. There were eight accurate long balls – three more than any other player managed, despite being withdrawn with one-third of the game remaining.

Of Delph’s 32 successful passes, 20 went in a forward direction and 10 were delivered in the final third.

There were indicators, too, of a player who had three years as a member of Pep Guardiola’s passing carousel at Manchester City.

Delph has no compunction over drilling the ball to teammates surrounded by opponents and is a fine architect of quick-fire exchanges to manoeuvre out of tight spots.

<%= PULSE.I18N.lookupKey( 'label.modalClose', '' ) %>

This video is for Season Ticket Holders, Official Members and Hospitality Members

You need to log in to watch.

If you already have an Official Membership or 22/23 Season Ticket, just login to watch the video.

If you are interested in an Official membership, you can find out how to buy one here.

Also check out our streaming FAQs.

<%= PULSE.I18N.lookupKey( 'label.modalClose', '' ) %>

This content or section of the site is available for free to Digital Members

Please login to your account or register for free to access.

To view this content you need to be a Season Ticket Holder, Hospitality Member or Official Member.

Login to watch or click below to buy an Official Membership

As well as access to live pre-season matches, Official Members receive a range of other benefits, including exclusive content and welcome pack.

MORE INFO - BUY A MEMBERSHIP - STREAMING FAQs

MATCH CENTRE 02:15 Sun 07 Nov 2021

BENITEZ REACTS TO SPURS DRAW

Everton claim point following strong Goodison display.


He’s had dreadful luck since coming to Everton two years ago, a handful of different injuries limiting Delph to 33 appearances.

Before lining-up against Tottenham, he’d waited 337 days to start a match.

The applause when Delph exited for Tom Davies was unanimous and heartfelt. Evertonians had seen the performance of a two-times Premier League winner and owner of 20 caps.

And, in common with their manager, they’ll be hoping for more where that came from.

Gordon’s Full 90

A significant staging post in the career of Anthony Gordon who completed 90 Premier League minutes for the first time.

Benitez clearly likes Gordon and has started the 20-year-old three times this term. He trusted the Academy graduate to function in a disciplined framework at Manchester United last month.

And starting Gordon with Everton very eager to arrest a losing run counted as another meaningful show of faith.

Gordon was instrumental to Everton’s express start on Sunday and 44 percent of the hosts’ attacks before half-time were directed down the player’s right flank – 29.8 percent were launched on the left.

Benitez noted the player’s efficient fast-twitch muscles and asked Gordon to add greater endurance to that explosive fitness.

<%= PULSE.I18N.lookupKey( 'label.modalClose', '' ) %>

This video is for Season Ticket Holders, Official Members and Hospitality Members

You need to log in to watch.

If you already have an Official Membership or 22/23 Season Ticket, just login to watch the video.

If you are interested in an Official membership, you can find out how to buy one here.

Also check out our streaming FAQs.

<%= PULSE.I18N.lookupKey( 'label.modalClose', '' ) %>

This content or section of the site is available for free to Digital Members

Please login to your account or register for free to access.

To view this content you need to be a Season Ticket Holder, Hospitality Member or Official Member.

Login to watch or click below to buy an Official Membership

As well as access to live pre-season matches, Official Members receive a range of other benefits, including exclusive content and welcome pack.

MORE INFO - BUY A MEMBERSHIP - STREAMING FAQs

MATCH CENTRE 04:18

GORDON ON 'UNREAL' GOODISON ADRENALINE RUSH

Attacker hails impact of fans and Benitez.


The player’s lung-capacity was evident in a dash forward and cross for Demarai Gray towards the end of the match.

He had two shots, delivered one key pass and was on the end of three illegal challenges.

Only Seamus Coleman (five) made more than Gordon’s four tackles and he struck nine accurate passes in the final third.

Evertonians have taken to Gordon and the player hurtling forwards with the ball at his feet is growing into one of Goodison’s more exhilarating sights.

He received a first call from England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley last week and is vying for gametime against Czech Republic and Georgia in the next week or so.

Gordon will return to Everton in time for a fixture against champions Manchester City. He did his chances of starting – and finishing – at Etihad Stadium no harm at all with this all-action display.

Blues Pass Character Test

If ‘reaction’ was the buzzword prior to kick-off, what Everton really needed was a proactive performance.

This was a day to get after Spurs from the off, to whip-up the Evertonians and create an archetypal white-hot Goodison Park atmosphere.

The energy generated when players and supporters unite in this stadium remains one of the most potent forces in English football.

Spurs were driven up the wall by Everton’s closing and hassling and challenging – the hosts made 22 tackles to their opponents 16 – and looked unsettled for prolonged periods.

“From the first tackle, from the first minute to the last, everyone was giving everything, the fans were behind the team – the connection between players and fans was great,” said Rafa Benitez.


“We had spirit and intensity and in the middle of the pitch a lot of players working very hard against very good players.

“We needed to close the penetrating passes and challenge and the players did everything.

“All the team was working so hard.”

This was a test of Everton’s mettle following a trio of defeats, the onus on Benitez’s players to avoid the unpalatable scenario of entering an international break stewing on four-straight losses.

Everton had 12 attempts at goal and could legitimately argue they deserved more than a solitary point.

Equally, Tottenham boast a cadre of players capable of changing a game at a stroke.

Giovani Lo Celso smacked a post with two minutes remaining. It would have been desperately harsh on Everton had the Argentine hit the jackpot for his side.

A draw was the least Everton deserved for an assertive and coherent display.

The point and performance represented steps in the right direction as Everton recalibrate in advance of the return of a clutch of key performers.


Point For The Collective 

We've highlighted a share of stellar individual contributions and could easily have shone a light on others. Lucas Digne was excellent at left-back and in midfield Allan put in an almighty shift.

But this was a team effort above all, as Everton pulled together to cover the significant absences of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Yerry Mina.

Richarlison picked up Calvert-Lewin's role at the tip of Everton's attack and was a television replay away from earning his side a potentially decisive penalty.

Rafa Benitez added an extra body to midfield to compensate for the loss of Doucoure's mobility, with Andros Townsend switched infield to join Allan and the deep-lying Fabian Delph in outnumbering Spurs in the centre of the pitch.


Wide players Anthony Gordon and Demarai Gray protected their full-backs and the pair between them made the same number of tackles – seven – as they had shots at goal. 

Gray tracked back to his goalline to frustrate Emerson Royal's attempt to convert a Sergio Reguilon delivery following a rare first-half Spurs foray.

The 25-year-old emerged as one of the game's more influential attackers following the restart, making inroads in tandem with Digne on Everton's left and coming close to converting a cross from the French defender.

Townsend's altered position prevented the ex-Spurs player from swinging in his trademark steady stream of crosses.  The 30-year-old was rarely sighted close to the touchline and spent a lot of his afternoon filling spaces and tracking runners.

The model of self-denial, Townsend epitomised an Everton effort designed to maximise the sum of the parts.