Micky van de Ven scored a pair of headers as Tottenham defeated Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to maintain their unbeaten away record in the Premier League.
So well have Spurs travelled in the league thus far that they have already matched their haul of away wins from last season, five, this time around.
Here, a flighted Mohammed Kudus corner on 19 minutes was met at the back post by Rodrigo Bentancur, who directed the ball perfectly into **Micky van de Ven**’s path to open the scoring, heading in on the line.
And the Dutchman stole in once more to nod home a Pedro Porro corner from the opposite side deep into first-half stoppage time. On a weekend when matches were largely dictated by set-piece supremacy, Spurs had surged ahead with two of their own.
Pape Matar Sarr, on as a substitute, put the game to bed late on, himself heading home after good work from Richarlison, who had steered a classy Porro delivery deftly towards the Senegalese midfielder to convert.
In truth, this was not a match Tottenham dominated. They were arguably not even the better side. But they found a way past a valiant Everton outfit, thus climbing to third in the table.
Spurs’ set-piece supremacy
Speaking to the press post-match, Thomas Frank revealed that he has been challenging van de Ven to add headed goals to his already impressive repertoire of skills. The Spurs manager went on to lavish praise on both his vice-captain and assistant Andreas Georgson, the club’s set-piece and restart lead.
“A big part of working set pieces is not overloading [the players], not making it bigger than it is,” Georgson said when overviewing his role in a recent interview with Spurs TV.
“One part is just to make the set-piece process as small as possible.”
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Indeed, against Everton the strategy from corners was remarkably clear. Runners would position themselves at the back post before working into the spaces between markers as the corner-taker shaped to deliver the ball.
The initial contact for both of van de Ven’s goals was uncontested, a considerable feat given Everton had been the only side boasting an unblemished defensive set-piece record prior to kick-off.
There was also Kevin Danso, who not only deputised expertly for the absent Cristian Romero in defence, but also threatened with his remarkable long throws. The hosts never truly got to grips with his ball-flight despite their significant height at the back.
Everton's creators in need of a true finisher
While Spurs condemned Everton to their first defeat at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, David Moyes should find solace in his side’s performance. For while the stat sheet is never final, possession, passing and shooting figures largely fell in the Toffees’ favour.
This can be expected when you have players with the guile and creativity of Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who asked distinct questions of Spurs in their respective roles behind Beto. Ndiaye in particular troubled Djed Spence in one-versus-one situations, the ball seemingly at one with his gilded right boot.
And as a disgruntled Xavi Simons trudged off to be replaced on the hour mark, one would have been forgiven for wondering what an Ndiaye, Grealish or even Carlos Alcaraz could do for Spurs.
Simons is carrying much of his side’s creative burden in **James Maddison**’s absence, and his 0.02 xA (expected assists) on Merseyside will only fuel his detractors, as Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall produced 0.56 and 0.54 xA respectively.
Everton, meanwhile, must recognise that such productivity is futile without an established No.9.
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Frank mixes things up in the middle
When the line ups were announced, even the most prescient of analysts would not have envisaged Kudus and Brennan Johnson sharing the same flank. But these are the types of questions Frank asks of his opposition.
Building from the usual 4-2-3-1 with Kudus as the No.10, the Ghanian would work with Simons to create a box midfield with the two holding midfielders, Johnson occupying his customary position on the right and Spence advancing to offer width down the left. And with Porro tucking in to create a three-man rest defence, Spurs often found themselves attacking in a structure that resembled a 3-2-4-1.
The move was a qualified success. Spurs outnumbered Everton’s three central midfielders, and with Grealish and Ndiaye resolving to retain their width, it was down to Beto to drop in and screen passes in to Joao Palinha or Bentancur.
But Kudus’ influence on the game was undoubtedly blunted as he could no longer cut in from the right. Frank will find the balance through trial and error, but injecting variety into Spurs’ game can only be a positive.
Toffees’ wide pairings yet to gel
As with Spurs, Everton’s full-backs operated asymmetrically. Vitaliy Mykolenko underlapped inside of Grealish to attack the central zones, almost playing as a second striker alongside Beto. Grealish meanwhile remained wide, preferring to work the ball from out to in.
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The pair’s patterns soon became predictable, and Spurs’ back line were wise to their advances. On the opposite flank, Ndiaye was well in advance of right-back Jake O’Brien and the duo struggled to combine at all.
Grealish and Mykolenko, who have accrued 516 minutes together, came up against a Porro-Johnson partnership which has 10 times their shared playing time (5,242 minutes).
Spurs’ right side appeared more robust than Everton’s left both in and out of possession, and while the odd spark was lit here and there, the hosts must incorporate more variation in wide spaces to compete with the league’s best.