Everton took advantage of Tottenham’s injury-plagued side to beat the Premier League relegation zone 3-2 on Sunday.
The goal-limited Toffees broke through a bedraggled Tottenham backline and found the net three times before breaking through and scoring own goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Iliman Ndiaye and Archie Gray.
A first win in seven league games moved Everton four points clear of the bottom three.
Tottenham suffered their 12th defeat of the season in the Premier League, leaving them just four points above 15th-placed Everton, adding to the pressure on under-criticized manager Anj Postko Ange Postecoglou.
Yet as the club’s hierarchy chanted slogans for change, it was chairman Daniel Levy, not the Australians, who felt the wrath of supporters from afar.
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Everton did bite the bullet and sack Sean Dyche earlier this month, and it’s been a day like those at Goodison Park for David Moyes as he enjoys his second spell in charge ’s first victory.
Tottenham’s Weaknesses
After Moyes’ lackluster performance in the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in midweek, the former Manchester United boss said he realizes he faces the task of maintaining Premier League status due to a lack of firepower.
Calvert-Lewin, who hadn’t scored since September but didn’t look like a striker lacking confidence, turned on Gray and Lucas Bergvall before opening the scoring in the 13th minute.
In addition to the absence of main goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and Postkoglu’s first-choice defender Christian Romero, Mickey van de Veen and Destiny Udoji, Tottenham Spurs are also without club-record signing Dominic Solanke through injury.
Captain Son Heung-min came on as a makeshift centre-forward and should have equalized when his shot from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross was too close to Jordan Pickford.
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But every time Everton struck back, Tottenham seemed likely to concede.
Calvert-Lewin should have had a second goal, but a heavy touch saw Antonin Kinski parry a shot from Czech goalkeeper Orel Mangala, who fired it home The goalpost.
Everton had scored just 15 goals in 20 league games before kick-off, having failed to score in nine of the previous 11 matches.
There has been little inspiration for the Toffees this season from Ndiaye.
The Senegal international produced a moment of magic as he leapt past the statuesque Radu Dragusin before lofting past Kinsky to double his lead .
Gray’s own goal made the visiting team’s performance in the first 45 minutes even worse. The weakness of set pieces was once again exposed, and the 18-year-old could only convert Calvert-Lewin’s shot into his own goal.
Postkoglu responded by replacing Dragusin with former Everton favorite Richarlison at half-time.
However, the damage had been done and it was likely to get worse for the former Celtics coach before things improved in the second quarter.
Calvert-Lewin shot wide again for his second chance.
In stoppage time, Richarlison scored at the back post and Kulusevski’s brilliant shot went past three scrambling Everton defenders to get a goal back.
But an energetic second half showed the quality gap Spurs should have exploited before the break.
Postkoglu’s side remain viable with three cup games under their belt, but Levy needs to decide whether his pursuit of a first trophy since 2008 would be better served by a change of manager.
