Everton suffered a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham but the game wasn’t without controversy
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Everton’s unbeaten start to life at The Hill Dickinson stadium came to a thudding halt at the weekend when they were beaten 3-0 at home by European hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur.
The game proved to be a tale of three headers as defender Micky van de Ven scored twice from set pieces before midfielder Pape Matar Sarr capped off the win for Thomas Frank’s side with a header of his own.
The result saw Tottenham get catapulted up to third in the table after a commanding start to life under their new manager, while Everton dropped down to 14th in the table in what ultimately proved to be an afternoon to forget.
The Lillywhites were good value for their victory on Merseyside but the game could very easily have panned out differently if it wasn’t for a controversial refereeing decision.
Keith Hackett shares scathing reaction to disallowed Everton goal
Former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official, Keith Hackett believes VAR shouldn’t have intervened in a potentially game-changing goal for Everton.
The incident took place in the opening half an hour, just minutes before Micky van de Ven’s opener when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall whipped in a pinpoint ball to the front post which was nodded in by the towering Jake O’Brien.
On the field, the goal was awarded in Everton’s favour but just as the former Lyon defender headed off to celebrate VAR flagged the strike for offside with both Iliman N’Diaye and Jack Grealish appearing to interfere with Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and his line of vision.
“[It was] disappointing to see the Everton goal ruled out,” said Hackett via Football Insider. Craig Pawson in a good position, awards the goal. Sadly, we then have VAR Stewart Attwell, once again, coming in and indicating to the referee that he should go to the monitor.”
Hackett goes on to explain that he feels Vicario exaggerated the amount of contact he receives from the Everton player. He added: “There is a slight nudge but when we see the amount of grappling that goes on inside the penalty area going unpunished, this is minimal. This goalkeeper is not going to save this goal. So, the indication is that two Everton players are in an offside position, they were. But, they’re behind the goalkeeper, not in front of him. The line of sight is clear, they have not interfered with the opponent. This goal should’ve stood.”
David Moyes shares clear verdict on disallowed goal
Everton boss David Moyes says that the referee was correct to disallow Jake O’Brien’s goal, conceding that he would have been frustrated as an opposing manager if the goal was allowed to stand.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the full-time whistle: “Since I have seen it, I agree it was offside. If it had been the other way around, I would be claiming it was an offside goal, so I think they got it right.”
Everton have a week to prepare for their next match as they gear up for a massive away match against the season’s surprise package Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. It’s the first meeting between the two teams since a 2-0 win against the Black Cats in 2017 when Moyes was in the opposing dugout. Romelu Lukaku and Idrissa Gueye were the goalscorers in that encounter.