Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points | Premier League 2019-20
After a frankly ridiculous 112 minutes of football, this afternoon’s Premier League game at Goodison Park finally ended in a 1-1 draw, as a late goal from Cenk Tosun allowed Everton to secure a valuable point against Tottenham Hotspur, who took the lead midway through the second half through a Dele Alli goal.
It was hardly the most inspiring viewing; both teams struggled to create chances throughout the game and it was easy to see why both teams have been considered off-form in recent weeks. That said, the game wasn’t without drama and talking points, a lot of which had to do with some controversial refereeing calls.
Here are 5 talking points from Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
#1 How much of an effect did Gomes’ injury have on both sides?
The main talking point of this game will surely be the nasty injury suffered by Everton midfielder Andre Gomes around the 80-minute mark. The Portuguese star appeared to suffer a serious leg break after a challenge from Heung-min Son led to a collision with Serge Aurier, with the lack of replays seeming to confirm the severity of the injury.
Son was shown a red card for his part in the incident. To me that seemed harsh, as without such a bad injury – which was essentially a freak accident – there’s no way such an innocuous challenge would’ve led to a sending off. With two lengthy VAR checks having already added plenty of time to the game, the result of Gomes’ injury was that we ended up with a massive 12 minutes of added time, and it turned out to be key to the result.
Tottenham were forced to play much deeper due to the numerical disadvantage, while Everton seemed to be willed on to find an equaliser in the name of Gomes, and in the 97th minute, that goal came through Cenk Tosun’s bullet header.
Did Everton deserve to escape with a point? Perhaps, but the decision to send Son off definitely seemed like a harsh one and almost certainly caused Spurs’ late collapse. Everyone will only wish the best for Gomes in his recovery, but it’s a fair guess that Everton would not have come away with a point had he – and Son – remained on the pitch.