Tottenham player ratings as 'exposed' defender gets 3/10 and 'positive influence' lands 8/10 in Everton defeat

Tottenham slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Everton on Sunday, going three behind within the first half and failing to fully recover.

Spurs were behind by the 13th minute when a sloppy pass into midfield allowed Everton to apply pressure, resulting in a pass into Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He skinned Archie Gray twice before finding the near post with a fine finish.

The home side doubled their lead in the 30th minutes when Iliman N’Diaye broke away, beat Radu Dragusin with a stepover and finished high into the net. Everton even had time to make it three before half-time, scoring deep into stoppage time after James Tarkowski headed across goal, and a slight Calvert-Lewin touch meant the ball flicked off Gray’s boot and into his own net.

Spurs improved in the second half, although Everton were not as bold on the ball. The visitors created a possible route back into the game when Dejan Kulusevski picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and produced a superb chipped finish to find the back of the net despite the presence of a sea of defenders who were attempting to cover for the stranded Jordan Pickford.

They got another two minutes into stoppage time when a superb Mikey Moore cross found Richarlison at the back post, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the defeat. Here we rate the Tottenham players from the Goodison Park clash.

Antonin Kinsky - 6

Big save to deny Lundstrom from range six minutes in. He also produced a superb save down low in the 25th minute. Nothing he could do about the goals.

Archie Gray - 3

Calvert-Lewin turned him twice in the box for the Everton opener. It was a nice piece of skill, but Gray just has to stand up and not bite in that situation. Scored an own goal for the third, but it did take a late touch, so it wasn’t an easy ball to deal with. A bad day for the youngster, who is too exposed at centre-back, although he was more comfortable in the second half.

Radu Dragusin (Off at 45’) - 5

Should have done better for the second goal, backing off with N’Diaye running at him. He then half-engaged and was beaten by a simple stepover. Battled hard aside from that but was withdrawn at the break with a nasty gash on his face. The midfield and central defensive core of this Tottenham team is all wrong. It’s not something Postecoglou can fix until he gets bodies back, but it’s hard to watch it being torn apart so often.

Ben Davies - 5

Gave Tarkowski too much space to peel away and head the ball across goal for the third. Generally a positive presence other than that, but this back line needs help.

Pape Matar Sarr (Off at 73’) - 4

His poor pass into midfield gave the ball away during the build-up to the Everton opener. Sarr had no real control of the midfield in the first half. He and Spurs improved in the second half, but Sarr needs more help if he is going to play in the middle and in front of such a mix-match back-line.

Lucas Bergvall - 5

Not as effective as previous games and a little uncomposed when Spurs went behind, firing off a couple of unwarranted long shots. The midfielder almost looked unprepared for this one, playing without a defined role,

Djed Spence - 5

Got forward regularly but struggled to make any serious inroads into a solid Everton back line.

Pedro Porro - 5

The same as above going forward, often trying to get something going, though he wasn’t found in space anywhere near as much as Tottenham would have liked.

James Maddison - 4

Struggled to have any real impact on the game. Tried to get on the ball more in the second half, but couldn’t manage any of his usual incisive passes.

Dejan Kulusevski - 7

One of Tottenham’s better performers going forward, playing a couple of nice cut-backs into the box. He scored in the 76th minute with a superb finish, chipping the ball over the stranded Jordan Pickford and five - yes five - defenders.

Heng-min Son - 4

Should have scored with 23 minutes on the clock, with Kulusevski laying him up perfectly only for Son to find the keeper’. Son was crowded out by a solid Everton back-line and struggled to get on the ball here, even when playing wide in the second half..

Substitutes

Richarlison (On at 45’) - 7

Looked more threatening than Son, stretching the line more, but Spurs struggled to create any real opportunities for the Brazilian for the most part. He did come close to getting on the end of a Kulusevski cross, and he also forced a double shot that Pickford was equal to late on. He then got Tottenham’s second when he latched onto Moore’s cross at the back post, tapping home before clashing with Pickford.

Mikey Moore (On at 73’) - 8

A positive influence from the moment he came on, Moore played a part in creating the Kulusevski goal. Moore faced up and took on defenders, creating plenty of danger, including a world-class cross to find Richarlison at the back post for the second goal.