Everton strike late to deny Tottenham Hotspur despite Richarlison double

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said that his side needed to be more clinical, as Jarrad Branthwaite’s 94th-minute equaliser salvaged a 2-2 English Premier League home draw for Everton on Feb 3.

Richarlison’s double on his return to Goodison Park looked set to take Spurs level on points with second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Arsenal. But Postecoglou’s men were denied at the death as Branthwaite met a free kick at the far post to boost Everton’s chances of survival.

Tottenham are fourth but could be leapfrogged by Aston Villa, who travelled to Sheffield United in a later game.

“Pretty disappointed, particularly conceding so late,” admitted Postecoglou on TNT Sport.

“We had chances to kill them off that we didn’t take. In the end, they got one late. That was the only threat they had, we had to deal with them throwing balls into the box all game. (Jordan) Pickford pulled off two or three good saves, we got two goals but just couldn’t get the third.”

Richarlison had scored just one Premier League goal for Tottenham between his £60 million (S$101.8 million) move in July 2022 and December 2023. But he has now struck nine times in Tottenham’s last eight league games, with his hot form timely in the absence of Son Heung-min at the Asian Cup.

On the Brazilian striker’s recent performances, Postecoglou added: “Richy has been good for a while, not just his goals but his general all-round play. But all the lads put in a solid shift today.”

The 26-year-old was applauded by the Everton support after he refused to celebrate his goals against his former club and even raised a hand in apology to the home fans.

The opener arrived after just four minutes as Destiny Udogie’s run to the bye-line was not tracked and the Italian defender’s driven cross was brilliantly swept in first time by Richarlison.

Everton’s fans were less forgiving of the Premier League. They were handed a 10-point deduction in November for breaches of financial rules over three seasons ending 2021-22 and now find themselves in a battle for survival. Further punishment may come for the Toffees, who face another charge of exceeding profit and sustainability limits for last season.

Placards and chants taking aim at the league’s hierarchy took place before kick-off and in the 10th minute. Everton’s appeal against the toughest sporting sanction in Premier League history took place this week with a verdict expected by the middle of the month.

If the Toffees are not successful in clawing back at least some of their lost points, they desperately need a change of fortunes on the pitch – Sean Dyche’s men have failed to win in six Premier League games.

Everton did rally after a poor start and levelled as their tactic to target Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from corners paid off.

The Italian thought he was fouled for Manchester City’s late winner in Tottenham’s FA Cup exit last weekend and was again not strong enough in coming from his line. Jack Harrison was backing into Vicario and then on hand to turn in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header towards goal.

Just as Everton were building up a head of steam, Richarlison silenced Goodison once more with a stunning strike from outside the box that curled into the top corner.

Tottenham controlled the game better in the second half and were made to rue not taking their chances to put the game to bed.

Pickford turned behind Pedro Porro’s blistering strike and then denied Richarlison his hat-trick from close range.

The England No. 1’s saves proved to be worth a crucial point, as Tottenham again failed to deal with an Everton set piece in stoppage time. Cristian Romero could only head a free kick towards his own goal and Branthwaite bundled the ball home despite the best efforts of Vicario.

“We certainly deserved to get a point from the game,” said Dyche on beIN Sports.

“I’m very pleased with the players’ mentality, the performance level and the quality to go and fight and got us a nice point against a very good side. At the end of the day, a late goal is a positive and we’ll take that.” AFP