Hugo Lloris and Heung-min Son clash indicative of a frustrated and fired-up Tottenham dressing room

1/31

A late-season battle between Tottenham and Everton in 10th and 11th respectively and with little on the line except a hopeful late push for Uefa's secondary club competition felt like it belonged in a past decade, and the entertainment served up was every bit as drab as anything from these clubs in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The big differences were the presence of two of the game's most decorated managers in the dugouts, which felt incongruous given the quality of the football, and the absence of atmosphere, which further detracted from the occasion.

Spurs won 1-0, fittingly winning through an own goal, to respond to last week's dismal 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United and kept a rare clean sheet, offering manager Jose Mourinho reasons for encouragement.

The Portuguese had questioned his side's mental fortitude on the eve of the game and they showed improved resolve here, while Everton slumped to a 40th consecutive failure to win away at the traditional 'Big Six', suggesting Carlo Ancelotti has a serious mentality problem of his own to remedy if he is to revive the club.

Tottenham, propelled as usual by Giovani Lo Celso who made the goal, moved up to eighth, within a point of Arsenal. However, they will have to improve if they are to beat their north London rivals here on Sunday.

Ultimately for the hosts, the only thing that mattered was three points and a change of mood ahead of Thursday's visit to Bournemouth.

A tale of two Harrys

The returning Harry Winks kept things ticking over in midfield for Tottenham against Everton...
Getty Images

Harry Winks returned to the starting XI after sitting out the matches against West Ham and Sheffield United, facilitating a switch to 4-3-3 with the England international flanked by Moussa Sissoko and Lo Celso.

It was dreadfully dull but Spurs, at least, looked far less open than in the 3-1 defeat at Bramall Lane and their midfield display offered further evidence that Mourinho's squad is currently far better suited to playing with a three, rather than a double pivot.

Winks himself kept Spurs ticking over, completing the most passes of anyone on the pitch – 62 in total – with an accuracy of 97 percent. He was solid, disciplined but unspectacular, which just about summed up this Spurs performance.

Meanwhile, it must have been another hugely frustrating evening for Harry Kane. Despite scoring in consecutive matches before tonight, Kane has been marginalised by his usual standards since the restart.

... but it was a frustrating night for Harry Kane leading the Spurs attack
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The stats spoke to his quiet evening, as he finished with just two shots blocked (one, admittedly, in the build-up to the goal), and the fewest passes and touches of any Spurs player.

Tottenham actually looked most dangerous on the rare occasions that Kane dropped deep and found space on the counter, but in his position as a no9 he was too often a bystander.

Spurs and Mourinho need to find a way to make the most of their talisman.

Lloris and Son clash

The half-time interval produced as much drama as the entire opening 45 minutes when the normally mild-mannered Heung-min Son and Hugo Lloris had to be separated by their team-mates after becoming embroiled in a furious row as the teams walked off the pitch.

The captain appeared to be the aggressor after racing out of his goal to berate Son, possibly for failing to hold his shape as Everton attacked towards the end of the half.

Lloris was seen consoling the South Korean as the players emerged for the second half, suggesting a minor flash point rather than a significant cause for concern, but it was nonetheless a bad look and indicative of a frustrated and fired-up dressing room.

Tottenham duo Hugo Lloris and Heung-min Son had a surprise bust-up following the half-time whistle on Monday night
Getty Images

It was out of character for Lloris, who is a vocal leader on and off the pitch but has never before been aggressive with his team-mates.

Mourinho had demanded his players showed more desire after accusing them of being mentally weak in the defeat to Sheffield United, and revealed they had had a "very honest" team meeting before the visit of Everton.

A furious argument between team-mates certainly showed fight, which may be construed as a positive in the circumstances, but it felt more like Mourinho's fired-up team had let their frustrations boil over.

In fairness, Son was improved after half-time, twice testing Jordan Pickford and firing a shot wide of the post, proving that he remained focussed despite the flare-up.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in