Match date: 3 January 2016

Everton started this season very well, losing just one game (against Manchester City) in their opening eight games, including a 3-1 win against Chelsea. Since then, they have hit inconsistent form as they are one of the top scoring sides in the league, but have also conceded some of the most goals. Tottenham, however, have been consistent throughout the year and Pochettino’s youthful side see themselves close to a Champions League spot.

Roberto Martinez set his side out in a 4-2-3-1 with Leighton Baines back in the side and Aaron Lennon also included in the starting XI.

Pochettino had Tottenham in a 4-2-3-1 as well with Tom Carroll partnering Eric Dier as the double pivot. Dele Alli was moved further up the pitch behind Harry Kane. Ben Davies played at left back over Danny Rose.

Tottenham’s Build Up in Attack

Tottenham dominated much of the match, especially the first half; their ball movement was good, they created space well with one another, and caught Everton’s shape off balance. There were a few aspects of their play that allowed them this dominance. The first important thing to note was Eric Dier’s positioning when Tottenham had the ball. The young Englishman would drop to the right of Toby Alderweireld. This allowed for a number of different movements for Tottenham.

First, it allowed Kyle Walker to move very high up the pitch, acting as a right winger and not having to worry about Everton exploiting space in behind him once he moved up the field. Walker was a consistent outlet in Tottenham’s attacks and Spurs were unlucky not to score just a few minutes into the match when Walker sent a ball across the six yard box toward Dele Alli, only for Seamus Coleman to intervene. Walker’s forward presence also pushed back Leighton Baines. The second movement that Dier’s position allowed was for Christian Eriksen to move infield. With Walker providing width on the right, Eriksen was then allowed to drift inside and become more involved in the play. This allowed Tottenham to overload the central areas, with Erik Lamela also drifting inside on occasion. The midfield rotation of Carroll, Dele Alli, and Eriksen was important to Tottenham’s success early on. Carroll was typically the deepest midfielder when Dier dropped alongside Alderweireld, but when Carroll was marked, he would move out of that space and allow Alli or Eriksen to drop into the space, making it harder for Everton to track their movements.

Tottenham’s midfield combinations and Harry Kane dropping into that area, not only allowed them to control the game, but forced Everton to become very compact. As Tottenham built play up, overloading Tottenham in the central areas with the rotations of Alli, Eriksen, Carroll, Kane, and Lamela, they would play out to Walker, who’s starting position was high up the pitch, and try to overload that side of the pitch. Then, if nothing was working on the right, they were able to switch the ball quickly into the centre and then Ben Davies consistently made late runs into the space down the left flank, catching the likes of Lennon and Coleman off balance.

Tottenham looked good in possession throughout the match, although they sometimes failed to create any clear cut chances; of their four shots on target, three were from outside the area and the two shots that hit the frame of the goal were also from outside the area. Dele Alli’s goal, which was very good and exemplifies Tottenham’s midfield movement, was his side’s only shot on target from inside the area.

Everton’s Struggles, Tottenham’s Pressing and Shape

Along with the struggles above, Everton also struggled going forward. They got the opening goal after a good ball from Cleverley into Lukaku, who then nodded it back to Lennon, with the former Spurs man finishing it very well. However, it was a rare chance for Everton. Throughout the first half, in particular, when Tottenham dominated the game, Lukaku was isolated and he always had either Alderweireld or Vertonghen right on his back when Everton played a ball into him. This forced a lot of his play to go backward, but so many times it took far too long for the Belgian to get support from his teammates that he was eventually crowded off the ball.

A lot of credit has to be given to Tottenham for Everton’s poor performance in the first half. Spurs pressing was very good, forcing Everton to play long balls, which in theory works with a striker like Lukaku, but as just mentioned, he was often too isolated. When Everton were able to get support round Lukaku or the Belgian was able to turn with the ball, Tottenham’s defensive transitions were quick and precise much of the time. With Eric Dier dropping in to the right of Alderweireld, Tottenham were never going to be too exposed at the back even if both Walker and Davies had gone into advanced positions. Dier, Alderweireld, and Vertonghen stayed connected and, generally, Carroll sat in front, though Eriksen and Alli also rotated through that space.

When Everton were able to get numbers forward, they struggled to break down Tottenham’s midblock and two banks of four. There were few passing lanes for the likes of Barry and Cleverley to pick out Barkley and Lukaku in advanced positions and the space between the lines, where Barkley excels when he picks up the ball in those positions, was limited. Below is an early example of Spurs defending in their midblock, which changed from their attacking 4-2-3-1 (although with Dier’s positioning it was more of lopsided 3-3-3-1ish or 4-1-4-1ish) to a 4-4-1-1.

Everton and Martinez’s Reaction

The title here might seem a bit odd considering Everton scored first and the game ended in a draw, however, as it often does, the scoreline does not tell the full story. Everton were very much outdone in the first half by Tottenham and likewise, Martinez was outdone by Pochettino. The Argentine’s fluid midfield space and overloading one side to isolate and open up the other side were incredibly effective, as was Tottenham’s pressing, especially on Funes Mori, who looked like the antithesis of his composed partnered, John Stones. Everton needed to make significant changes, but they only really came in the second half.

At the start of the second half, two things were noticeable about Everton; they defended in a midblock, slightly higher than they had in the first half, and there was more of an effort to press higher up the field. It was immediately more effective as it forced Tottenham to play long when Kane was dropped into midfield or turn the ball over like Funes Mori had done for Everton in the first half too many times. Below you can see a good example of Everton’s higher pressing; Lukaku is cutting off the passing lane from Vertonghen to Alderweireld, Lennon is tight to Davies, Barkley is tight to Carroll, but is also conscious of the space between Lennon and himself.

With this, Everton certainly started the second half much better and looked to assert themselves on both sides of the ball. In the 60th minute, Martinez made a double change, bringing on Besic for Kone and Deulofeu for Lennon. Up until this point, Tottenham were sometimes still able to outnumber Everton in central midfield and the rotations of the Spurs’ midfielders were too much for the three man Everton midfield, especially with Barkley recovering from pressing high on occasion. With Martinez’s changes, Everton were now able to match up with Tottenham’s narrow midfield. Cleverly, although no more on the left in place of Kone drifted inside to make Everton very compact and with Besic on, it gave Everton a player with high work rate, as well as technical qualities, through the middle of the pitch. Below you’ll see a screen capture of Besic tracking a run of Lamela. Lamela started his run from the centre of the pitch and Besic stuck with him, something that Barkley, Barry, and Cleverly rarely did in the first half. As mentioned, Everton were now better suited to deal with the fluidity of Tottenham’s midfield players.

Conclusion

An interesting tactical battle between two very good managers. Pochettino certainly got the better of Martinez in the opening half, but the response from Martinez was, while necessary if Everton were going to get anything from the game, a good one. Tottenham’s midfield fluidity and width from Walker and Davies allowed them to dictate play while Everton’s defensive structure struggled to cope. Perhaps Tottenham were unlucky not to score more in the first half, they did hit the frame of the goal twice, but they also produced few opportunities inside the Everton penalty area.

Martinez’s changes at half time and in the 60th minute allowed Everton to get more of a hold on the match and made the second half far more even than the first. Everton need more consistency in their performances if they are going to have any success this year.

Tottenham are looking for a Champions League spot and if they can continue to build on performances like today and offer more midfield runners beyond Kane (like Son has done in the past), they were be able to create more meaningful chances.