LONDON – In the course of the primary half, after one other save by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the ball rebounded on the finish of the lengthy half and was hidden by a bunch of touring followers.
It was the perfect piece to defend the Merseysiders all evening.
They had been solely 2-0 down at that time, however the dye had already been thrown on a really depressing and disturbing efficiency because the eventual margin of victory was determined by hosts Tottenham Hotspur within the absence of any form of competitors as minds started to show to Saturday match towards Manchester United.
They scored 5 occasions unanswered on the finish, beginning with Michael Keane’s 14th-minute personal purpose and Heung-Min Son’s low shot that Pickford ought to have staved off. Granted this benefit, he pushed Spurs residence by way of just about no resistance. Harry Kane added the third purpose earlier than the tip of the primary half, then substitute Sergio Reguilon ensured the second half to comply with the one-sided sample of the primary by scoring 41 seconds after the restart.
Match Report: Kane Double helps Tottenham defeat Everton
Premier League desk: Everton one level above the relegation zone
– You do not have ESPN? Get on the spot cross
Kane fired an outstanding shot from a comparatively slender angle to attain Spurs’ fifth, and within the course of climbed above Arsenal’s Thierry Henry to 176 Premier League targets to complete sixth on the all-time scorer’s record.
This additionally bolstered the speculation that when Conte has a particular week to work along with his gamers – corresponding to when beating Manchester Metropolis and Leicester within the league, or Brighton within the FA Cup – there’s a marked enhance of their collective output.
However other than Matt Doherty’s continued revival at full-back – “I wish to stress his enchancment,” Conte mentioned afterwards – not a lot will be extracted from this for Spurs given how unhappy the opponents are.
Lampard’s final go to to the Premier League got here right here as Chelsea supervisor in December 2019, when he celebrated a effectively deserved 2-0 win with a distant aspect beaming with what the West London enclave nonetheless refers to as ‘Three Level Lane’.
The joke was it right here. To the tune of “Three Lions”, Spurs followers sang: “He is down, he is down, he is going! Lampard is down.”
There may be nonetheless loads of time for Everton to save lots of themselves, however the noticeable impact of this humiliation has been that though they continue to be seventeenth, one place and one level above the relegation zone, Burnley, who’re in 18th place, now have a greater purpose distinction.
Everton haven’t been relegated to the First Division since 1951, a continuing function within the English Soccer League since 1954, however it’s the form of efficiency that casts doubt on the preservation of this historical heritage.
Though there have been promising indicators at residence – unlucky that they misplaced 1-0 to Manchester Metropolis final month – Everton have carried out poorly on the highway, meekly surrendering at Newcastle, Southampton and now Tottenham since Lampard’s appointment. Jan 31.
Lampard admitted after the match: “There’s a clear contradiction between the extent of residence and away as a group.” “So that you begin on the lookout for totally different the explanation why we aren’t that robust within the final third.
“There have been issues earlier than me, points that wanted fixing. Sadly, the issues don’t handle themselves in a single day. We’re nonetheless in very early levels so now we have to discover a method to get outcomes to maintain us within the league this yr as a result of it’s clear the place we’re” .
The subsequent two video games look vital – at Goodison Park towards each Wolverhampton and Newcastle – given what lies forward. After that, Everton nonetheless needed to play 5 of the present high six, in addition to a rising Leicester Metropolis.
“What we have seen is quite a lot of progress in Goodison, we have seen quite a lot of membership unification, followers purchase what we’re doing however we have not been capable of change the format of the away group,” Lampard mentioned. “Now now we have two residence video games to work in direction of, to attempt to get the outcome that makes issues look extra optimistic. We’ve to deal with it.”
“After all, the outside we wish to outline accurately. One click on is likely to be proper for us. In the mean time, we have not achieved it, and there is undoubtedly a psychological problem however that is regular… For those who stroll away from residence in a spot like Tottenham and concede two or three targets, I do not care in case you’re in our place or close to the highest of the league, it is a lengthy and troublesome evening total.”
Lampard will certainly need to method these video games with extra pragmatism quite than the naive tactical deployment on Monday; Conte’s Spurs struggled towards groups defending deep, however right here Everton sought to press them excessive however solely served to go away large areas behind so Son and Kane might do their very efficient double.
Lampard continues to be a coach with nice potential, however his fall at Chelsea was a protection filled with holes; Within the 2019-20 season, his solely full season with the membership, the Blues completed fourth however conceded 54 targets, greater than every other group within the first half.
Thomas Tuchel inherited the identical protection at Chelsea and received the Champions League. At Everton, Lampard is following within the footsteps of Rafa Benitez, beforehand recognized for his defensive organisation. The duty it faces is seismic. Followers can solely conceal the ball for therefore lengthy.
