Yves Bissouma scored on his return to the side and Son Heung-min netted twice as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Everton 4-0 for their first win of the season.
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Spurs were held 1-1 by Leicester City in their opening match but showed no such signs of profligacy against Everton, with Bissouma setting the tone inside 14 minutes with a 20-yard rocket – his first goal for the club.
“Listen to that roar — Spurs are back!” 🔥
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 24, 2024
A rocket from Yves Bissouma to open the scoring! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/syXDKtQI9j
Jordan Pickford's howler 11 minutes later gifted Son, who played as a centre-forward in the absence of the injured Dominic Solanke, a simple finish as Everton, beaten 3-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion in their opening match last week, caved under the pressure.
Cristian Romero's towering header on 71 minutes put Spurs out of reach, followed soon after by Son's second goal, which came after a brilliant run from Micky van de Ven.
Everton remain planted to the bottom of the early standings as one of four sides with zero points after two matches, while Spurs have four points from their two games.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
3 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
3 | +7 | 9 |
| 3 |
Brighton
BHA
|
3 | +4 | 7 |
| 4 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
3 | +4 | 7 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
3 | +2 | 7 |
| 6 |
Brentford
BRE
|
3 | +1 | 6 |
How the match unfolded
Spurs were well on top when the returning Bissouma fired home a first-time finish from Dejan Kulusevski's pass, with the blistering strike rattling in off the underside of the crossbar.
Pickford had earlier made a trio of saves to thwart the hosts, but a calamitous touch from a backpass allowed Son to pounce and roll into an empty net.
Spurs did not really move through the gears but still found a third when Romero, making his 100th appearance for the club, climbed highest to head in James Maddison's corner.
Son rounded off the scoring 13 minutes from time in north London with a simple finish past Pickford after Van de Ven intercepted Dwight McNeil's pass, held off a couple of challenges and set up his team-mate.
Bissouma leads the way
Spurs were punished for not taking their chances against Leicester, but there were no such signs of rustiness against the below-par Toffees.
Bissouma was suspended by the club for the match at King Power Stadium, but the Mali international was handed an instant return by Ange Postecoglou and ran straight to his head coach after finding the net, scoring the first in what proved to be a rout.
Postecoglou's decision to name an attacking line-up, with Kulusevski and debutant Wilson Odobert coming in for Pape Matar Sarr and injured club-record signing Solanke, paid off handsomely, too.
That Spurs were so clinical and showed such a cutting edge without Solanke will also surely be a huge boost to their boss.
Tougher tests lie in wait for Spurs, who have now won six of their past seven opening home league games, starting with next weekend's trip to likely fellow top-four contenders Newcastle United.
Everton left reeling
The visitors made life far too easy for Brighton and their supporters – many of whom left well before full-time – do not have much to be cheerful about after this latest display, which makes it seven goals conceded and none scored so far, to start the season.
Pickford looked as though he was going to produce another of his heroic performances early on, only to undo all his hard work when dallying under little pressure for Son to add to Bissouma's opener. There was no way back from there.
Sean Dyche will point to his list of absentees – not least Jarrad Branthwaite – with academy product Roman Dixon coming in for a senior debut to fill in for the suspended Ashley Young and injured Seamus Coleman at right-back, but there were worrying signs for Toffees fans.
The introduction of new signings Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom in the second half did give Everton a little more attacking impetus, but Spurs simply had far more quality and ruthlessly punished Dyche's men.
Club reports
What the managers said
Ange Postecoglou: "The performance was good, it was good last week. We limited them to what they're good at - set pieces - which we dealt with well. It's really encouraging for us.
"There's no doubting his [Bissouma’s] quality. But we want to make him the best version of himself, that starts with off-field as much as on-field."
Sean Dyche: "You can't gift teams of this calibre. We couldn't gift it last week, either, which we did - two goals. We've gifted them certainly one, if not two, today and you can't do that at this level.
"I thought young Roman did terrific. It was a tough game for him but he stuck to task. The players we're bringing in are developing players - they're not the real deal, as they're bringing in at Tottenham.“
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Everton have lost their first two games in a top-flight season by 3+ goals for the first time in their history.
Spurs have beaten Everton by 4+ goals for the fourth time in the Premier League – against no side have they done so more often in the competition’s history (also four v Aston Villa and Stoke City).
All four of Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma’s Premier League goals have come from outside the box – only Pedro Mendes (six) and Fabrice Fernandes (five) have scored more in the competition with 100 per cent of them coming from distance.
Spurs’ James Maddison has provided an assist in each of his last four Premier League games against Everton – only Dennis Bergkamp has assisted a goal in more consecutive appearances against an opponent in the competition (five v Man City between 1995 and 2003).
