The back four was playing at Championship level in the loss. (1:20)
The ball was hidden by a group of travelling supporters after Jordan Pickford saved a first half goal.
It was the best piece of defending the Merseysiders.
They were only 2-0 down at that point, but the dye was already cast on an utterly miserable and alarming performance in which the winning margin was ultimately determined by Spurs as they prepared to face Manchester United.
They scored five unanswered times in the end, starting with an own goal and a low Heung-Min Son drive which Pickford should have kept out of. Spurs pushed it home through almost no resistance. The first half ended in a one-sided fashion, with Harry Kane adding a third before the break, but the second half began in a similar fashion, with substitute Sergio Reguilon scoring 41 seconds after the restart.
Kane scored his fifth goal of the season from a tight angle to move up to sixth on the all-time goal scoring list.
There is a theory that when a coach has a clear week to work with his players, there is a noticeable increase in their output.
Not much else could be drawn from this for Spurs given how bad the opposition was.
In December of last year, when he was the manager of the Blues, he celebrated a thoroughly-deserved 2-0 win with a gleeful away section revelling in what that enclave of west London still refers to as "Three Point Lane."
The joke was on him. Spurs fans sang "He's going down, he's going down, he's going!" The man is going down.
- Match report: Kane double helps Spurs hammer sorry Everton
- Premier League table: Everton one point above drop zone
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access
Although they remain in 17th, one place and one point above the bottom of the table, they now have a better goal difference than 18th place.
This is the sort of performance that casts significant doubt over the preservation of the longstanding heritage ofEverton, who have not been demoted since 1951.
Although there have been signs of promise at home, the performances on the road have been abysmal since the appointment of Frank Lampard.
There is a clear discrepancy between home and away form.
There were issues that need to be sorted out. Issues do not take care of themselves overnight. We have to find a way to get the results to keep us in the league this year because it is clear where we are.
Their next two matches are crucial, at Goodison Park to Wolves and Newcastle. Five of the current top six are still to be played by the Toffees.
The fans are buying into what we are doing but we haven't been able to move the away form. We have to pay attention to them.
We want to sort out the away form and get it right. It may be a moment that works for us. If you go away from home and concede two or three, I don't care whether you are in our or not.
Spurs have struggled against teams defending deep, but here they were able to leave swathes of space in behind, which is something Lampard will surely have to approach those games with more pragmatism.
In his only full season at the club, the Blues finished fourth but conceded 54 goals, more than any other side in the top half.
The same defence was brought in by Thomas Tuchel and he won the trophy. At the same time as that, at the same place, there is a man who is renowned for his defensive organisation. The task facing him is very important. The ball can only be hidden for so long.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
