MATCH REPORT : EVERTON 1-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

This game at Goodison Park will be remembered for a horrific injury to Everton midfielder Andre Gomes, rather than any footballing contest as the teams played out an uninspiring 1-1 draw.

In the opening half the few chances that were created fell to Everton, Gomes headed over at full stretch after good build up play between Djibril Sidibe and Theo Walcott, the latter got to the by-line and floated a cross to the back post where the Portuguese midfield man could not redirect his header on target. Gomes was also at the heart of the home side’s first flowing move, switching play from right to left for Digne to find Richarlison inside the area. The Brazilian turned sharply only to shoot straight at Paulo Gazzaniga.

The Spurs goalkeeper saved impressively from Richarlison early in the second half as Everton looked to go for Spurs throat and take advantage of a team that has not won away from home in ten months. However, the visitors took full advantage of a misplaced pass by Alex Iwobi moments later. The former Arsenal winger was under little pressure inside his own half when he played a careless pass straight to Son who released Dele Alli in space he cut inside Mason Holgate before finding the bottom corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal to give Spurs an undeserved lead.

VAR made several unwelcome interventions on a desperately poor game, taking three minutes to decide that Dele Alli, the Spurs’ goalscorer, had not handled inside his own penalty area, for example. There was also a Davison Sanchez trip on Richarlison in the area which looked like a stonewall penalty but VAR which has been no friend to Everton deemed it not so. VAR was used again to decide whether Sanchez had committed a professional foul on Richarlison which would have resulted in the Colombian receiving his marching orders but again Everton did not benefit from a VAR decision.

The evening got worse for Everton when Gomes sustained his awful injury. The Portugal midfielder was sent sprawling by a cynical foul from Son Heung-min from behind and that resulted in his awkward landing and collision with Serge Aurier that caused a dislocated fractured right ankle. Everton have confirmed that Gomes will undergo surgery to repair his ankle on Monday.

Martin Atkinson, the referee, booked the Spurs striker before VAR upgraded the yellow card to a red for “endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge”, a Premier League statement later clarified. Son was distraught as he departed to a cascade of boos from the Goodison faithful who saw the action as an act of retaliation after Gomes had caught son with a flailing arm moments earlier.

After Gomes was stretchered off the game seemed less important but with the crowd clearly incensed and wanting a reaction it was Cenk Tosun, a late substitute, that rewarded Everton’s professional reaction. He powered a thumping header into the bottom corner from a Lucas Digne cross to rescue a point for the Blues on a night when it seemed everything that could go wrong for Everton had done so.

How they lined up : 

Barry Cass