Matchday: Tottenham v Everton – Updated
By Ryan Wrenn
Halftime Reaction
Let’s be generous and say that the good outweighed the bad in that half. Eric Dier is making a great case for keeping him in midfield going forward – though admittedly his tackle that took Tom Cleverely out of the game toward the end of the half was maybe a bit too full-bodied.
But for Kyle Walker’s mistake that led to Cleverely’s shot on goal earlier in the half, the defense has been very solid. Danny Rose continues to improve his defending and Vertoghen has done well to stay in the game.
It’s possible that – for the first time ever – Nacer Chadli and Mousa Dembélé are the best players on the pitch. The Belgian pair have been seemingly everywhere on the pitch, dropping deep to retrive the ball out of possession and doing well to get the ball back into dangerous areas. Chadli in particular has dominated Everton’s defensive flanks. He’s bound for something if he can keep that up in the second half.
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The bad? Harry Kane is short on confidence. The excellent ball over the top that sent him one-on-one with Tim Howard should have been a goal. He took one – two, three maybe? – too many touches and the ball ricocheted off of Howard’s leg.
Ryan Mason should be kept in deeper midfield. It’s easy to see how his many qualities going forward would make Pochettino think he’d be even better in an attacking midfield role. He’s not. A couple good chances and passes don’t outweight his general lack of influence in the number 10 role. Keep him alongside Dier in midfield.
POPULAR: Rose’s Return Will Double Tottenham’s Attack
Everton have been surprisingly virile considering their efforts midweek. They’ve done well in possession and actually edged Tottenham out in the first half in time on the ball. Otherwise, though, they’re not doing much. Cleverley’s shot notwithstanding, their attack has failed to trouble Tottenham’s back four all that much. Mirallas’ introduction for Cleverley might make them a bit more potent however.
For Tottenham the key to the second half is remaining strong in the back and keeping Everton busy out wide. Mason maybe gets fifteen more minutes on the pitch before Dele Alli or Alex Pritchard get a chance.
Next: Fulltime