After a frenetic match at Goodison Park Everton couldn’t hold onto a second half lead and a defensive error allowed Tottenham to secure a 2-2 draw.
This was the third consecutive draw for Everton who have now dropped six points in what is surely now an increasingly futile pusuit of European football.
Once again there was an injury blow for the Blues before the match kicked off as Carlo Ancelotti admitted his centre-forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin wasn’t fit to play.
On the plus side Brazilian midfielder Allan was able to play and come into the centre of midfield alongside Tom Davies and Jordan Pickford returned in goal.
Ancelotti picked quite an attacking team with Alex Iwobi joining Gylfi Sigurdsson and James Rodriguez in support of lone striker Richarlison.
Spurs too were a little more adventurous and in an unusually positive selection Jose Mourinho selected Harry Kane and Son as usual with Tanguele Ndombele behind them.
Despite both managers apparently looking to get the points, the game started very slowly and the teams seemed inhibited in their play by that need to win.
Then after a pretty non-descript first twenty minutes or so the match suddenly burst into life as Harry Kane pounced on a Toffees defensive mistake and slotted home to give Spurs the lead.
It was a poor bit of defending from Micheal Keane who seems to have gone backwards since earlier in the season and was struggling as always with Son’s pace.
But Everton responded well and almost straight away were level when the excellent James Rodriguez was brought down in the box. It looked a little soft but anyway Sigurdsson stepped up and calmly put the ball past Hugo Lloris for the equalizer.
Now both sides threw off those early shackles and started playing some good attacking football with the Blues especially producing some excellent stuff, mostly going through Rodriguez.
The home side were creating some good chances but Lloris was in fine form and Everton again wasted chances and couldn’t get that second goal their play deserved.
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After halftime the match continued to be a good spectacle although now it was Tottenham who were edging it but again as happens so many times it was the Toffees who got the second goal.
Ancelotti had brought on Seamus Coleman and he was involved straight away with his ball inside allowing Sigurdsson to stride forward and whip in a great strike for 2-1. So the question was could Everton now hold onto that lead or add to it?
Of course the answer was no and yet again it was a defensive lapse that cost them as Kane snaffled up another half-chance to score his second and restore parity.
As with the first goal the real culprit was Keane who had a wobbly game and his weak clearance fell eventually to Kane, certainly the last person you would want to gift any chance to.
The Blues kept going and had a few late chances particularly one that fell to substitute Josh King who had a great opportunity to make himself a hero but he couldn’t finish and Richarlison failed to put away the rebound.
The performance tonight was obviously much improved from the Brighton game, but even so its little consolation because I think the Toffees really had to win this and once again they couldn’t find a way to do so.