[ad_1]
Tottenham and Everton were only separated by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal in the 55th minute at Tottenham Stadium, but the game, which ended 1-0 for the visitors, suggested there is a greater gulf in their respective quests for identity and improvement. , and that it should bother the local coach José Mourinho.
The new Premier League campaign started with these two traditionally great clubs hoping that the cult of their highly decorated coach could take them to the next level. Mourinho’s track record in delivering trophies raises hope that Spurs will finally have silver to show for years of progress on and off the pitch, while Carlo Ancelotti’s pedigree offers Everton the opportunity to use the owner’s financial clout. Farhad Moshiri to bridge the gap with the elite.
Tottenham operate with higher expectations, given their achievements in recent seasons, but Sunday’s proceedings suggest there must be concern that Mourinho is in danger of falling behind Ancelotti in addressing the specific issues that have held both clubs back.
– Ratings: Alli 4/10, Kane 5/10 as Spurs go down
For too long, Everton’s central midfield has lacked creativity and stamina. Ancelotti emphatically sought to resolve this by signing Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodríguez; all three started here and quickly established control in a distinctly different way than Everton. After all, they hadn’t beaten an established top-six team in 40 games and hadn’t won at Tottenham for 12 years.
Both junk drives are gone and it was not the result of a crush. The Spurs quickly became dependent on trying to find Son Heung-Min on the counterattack and once Everton shut down that threat, the home team was alarmingly short of ideas.
Dele Alli surprisingly retired at half-time despite a threatening moment or two, especially when he fired a fierce shot in the 33rd minute that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford did very well to deflect.
Mourinho confirmed after the game that Alli’s retirement was a purely tactical decision and with his replacement, Moussa Sissoko lined up right, Lucas Moura was traded to a 10th spot. In fact, it was an admission from his boss that Tottenham was playing. mainly at rest.
Giovani Lo Celso may be absent with a hamstring problem, but the lack of clarity in attacking approach hints at a deeper problem than the simple absence of a player. Subsequent changes from Mourinho saw Steven Bergwijn replace Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele given just 14 minutes to inject some dynamism, but neither substitute made much of an impact.
play2: 08Ogden: James Rodríguez was fantastic in Everton’s debut
Mark Ogden believes that James Rodríguez showed great control and vision when Everton won 1-0 at Tottenham.
Contrast that with the incision offered by Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, who should have opened the scoring at 16 minutes by taking advantage of a misguided pass from Ben Davies to surround Hugo Lloris, only to shoot left-handed with the goal at their mercy. a certainly narrow angle. Ten minutes after the break, the Brazilian forward’s attacking partner was more clinical when Calvert-Lewin headed Lucas Digne’s free kick from the left.
However, no one impressed the visiting team more than James. Although the 29-year-old needs to revive his career after stalling at Real Madrid and in two years on loan at Bayern Munich, the Colombian international still possesses enough star quality to make his move to Everton a major blow for the Merseysiders. .
It is almost certain that it would not have happened without Ancelotti present on the bench; Despite all his tribulations in recent years, James was directly involved in 29 goals in 32 league appearances with Ancelotti during their time together at Real and Bayern. He seemed like a cut above everyone else here, despite receiving the standard rough introduction to English football in two meaty opening challenges.
Coming in from the right, James found gaps in dangerous areas and threatened to score himself, particularly with a left foot shot eight minutes before halftime. When he left the field in injury time, he had created five chances for his teammates, the most for a Premier League rookie since Alexis Sanchez for Arsenal against Crystal Palace six years ago.
James has a long way to go to restore his reputation, but this was a better start than many anticipated. If he continues, he will address a key flaw that has undermined Everton’s teams for years. On the contrary, Tottenham’s lack of response in falling behind hinted at the mentality and depth of attack problems he did with Mauricio Pochettino as coach last year.
Featured
- Only Cutlery Acceptable for Kane and Spurs Morgan of USWNT Joins Spurs for 2020-21 Season 2020-21 Premier League Season Preview: Big Questions, New Players to Watch, Team-by-Team Projections
2 Related
Mourinho, somewhat typically, found a plethora of excuses, ranging from a positive COVID-19 test that hampered the preseason to Harry Kane being only able to train once with the team as a result of his international duty to England. There was also a complaint that Digne was allowed to advance the position from which he spun on his decisive play.
“I did not like that so many referees on the field of play, on the touchline and in front of the screen allowed to take a free kick from five or six meters away, which creates a totally different angle of crossing, to attack the ball and put a defensive zone line, “said Mourinho. “I can complain now because I was complaining before the goal to the referees.
“But I didn’t like my team. I think that until their goal, the game was there. We were not, in my opinion, physically strong. The team lacks at this moment – in many players – physical condition and of course from that goal they were more dangerous, they had a couple of very good chances coming from the left and attacking the spaces and were closer to scoring the second goal ”.
Mourinho is right in some respects and a game is not the time to draw definitive conclusions. Spurs are eager to add another striker and their physical condition will improve as September progresses, especially with the club heading into the Europa League qualifying matches.
But the truth is that in this game, Mourinho’s men resorted to playing at halftime against a team that finished six places and 10 points above last season. Soon the time will come to wonder if this is really what their manager wants and, if so, if it is really the best way forward for Tottenham.
Source: espn.co.uk
[ad_2]
