Who else? On his 400th appearance for Tottenham Hotspurs, Harry Kane scored the goal that secured his side three points against a resolute Everton side. The 2-0 triumph was the sort of dogged performance that turns a frustrating draw into a rewarding victory. These are the sort of valuable results you get when Antonio Conte is your manager. Spurs weren’t at their best, but Everton displayed the sort of organisation and defensive acumen that has made them a hard side to beat in recent weeks.
The two sides felt each other out early on. James Tarkowski began a running battle with Harry Kane, getting the best of the England captain on a few occasions. The highlight was a crucial headed intervention as Ivan Perisic’s cross found Kane. The ex-Inter Milan man also whipped in an inviting ball for Richarlison, but his header was wayward.
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There was a half-hearted penalty shout when Son Heung-min went over the outstretched leg of Idrissa Gana Gueye. There was no contact and no spot kick given, but Gueye can breathe a sigh of relief that his carelessness had no bearing on the scoreline.
Everton eased into the half and Demarai Gray spurned a very presentable chance. The winger got in behind Rodrigo Bentancur artfully but snatched at his shot. Amadou Onana found a gap after a defensive mix-up between Eric Dier and Matt Doherty, but he also showed a lack of composure when the time came to finish. Frank Lampard will be frustrated that in a 45 minutes of fine margins, two strong opportunities were spurned.
The first half got off to a worrying start for Antonio Conte’s men. Richarlison pulled up with a calf complaint, with Yves Bissouma coming on to replace him. The switch saw Spurs re-align in a 3-5-2 formation, similar to how they set up against Brighton & Hove Albion last week. Conte will be hoping Richarlison’s injury is not too severe considering the intense schedule they face between now and the World Cup.
Ben Davies found Kane with an excellent cross. The striker leathered it on the volley but his international teammate, Jordan Pickford reacted quickly to save it. Son could not direct the follow-up on target as a fine opportunity went begging.
After outdoing his England colleague, Pickford would come up against Kane again. This time it was to his detriment, after spilling a Doherty strike and then fouling the Spurs striker on the follow-up. Pickford got a hand to it, but not a strong enough one to redeem himself, as Kane’s spot kick flew home. Everton would now be forced to come out of what was a very effective shell over the course of the first hour.
Lampard shuffled his deck in search of parity. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Garner came on in place of Neal Maupay and Seamus Coleman. But still Spurs kept coming. Kane drew a solid save from Pickford on the turn. It was becoming something of a one-on-one slugfest between striker and goalkeeper.
Kane proved his value as part of the build-up play in the dying minutes. The striker found Bentancur on the run. The midfielder lifted a brilliant ball to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who lashed the ball home to double Tottenham’s lead. It was a brilliant, incisive move that the once-unbreakable Everton defence had no answer to.
Conte’s tenure at Spurs has seen them perform as a more well-rounded outfit. The old over-reliance on Kane has relented somewhat. But on a day like this, where a defensively solid outfit is leaving little in the way of gaps, it helps immensely to have the most naturally talented English goalscorer of recent years in your ranks. As 258 goals in 400 games would suggest, if you need a match-winner then look no further.
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