Tottenham 2 – 0 Everton

Harry Kane marked his 400th appearance for Tottenham with a goal from the penalty spot in a 2-0 victory over Everton, which moves Spurs just one point behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Frank Lampard’s visitors frustrated Tottenham throughout the first half and passed up two golden opportunities of their own, with Demarai Gray and Amadou Onana blowing one-on-one chances.

But Jordan Pickford – moments after a stunning stop from Kane at the start of the second half – made a costly error, spilling a shot from Matt Doherty and then bringing down the Spurs striker as he scrambled to recover.

Kane (59) scored and missed from the spot in the Champions League on Wednesday, but there were no nerves as he thumped home his penalty in front of the South Stand. With nine goals in 10 games, Kane is enjoying a superb start to the season and he has now scored in five Premier League games in a row for the first time.

It was a less rewarding evening for his fellow Spurs forward Richarlison, who had seen his reunion with former club Everton cut short by then due to a calf injury. However, Antonio Conte took Richarlison’s exit as an opportunity to switch to 3-5-2 and the home side extended their 100 per cent home record for this season with some authority from then on, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg wrapping up the win with a deflected finish on 86 minutes.

Spurs have made their best start to a Premier League season after 10 games and, although they remain third, they are now level with second-placed Manchester City ahead of their trip to Liverpool on Super Sunday, while Arsenal’s game in hand comes at Leeds. Everton, who suffered defeat on the road for the first time in four matches, stay 12th.

How Spurs grabbed victory

Tottenham thrashed Everton 5-0 in this fixture in March but Frank Lampard’s side – boasting the joint-best defensive record in the division ahead of kick-off – have proven to be more resolute this season.

Their gameplan was clear from the first whistle, with Dwight McNeil dropping into a left wing-back role to add extra defensive cover in a 5-3-2, and the visitors were able to limit Tottenham to barely a handful of half-chances in the opening period.

There was a header over from Richarlison, a half-hearted penalty shout from Heung-Min Son and a deflected shot from Kane but no real threat on Pickford’s goal. Instead it was Everton who had the best openings before the break.

First Gray blasted over after he rolled Rodrigo Bentancur to get in on goal from a long ball. Lampard’s frustration on the touchline was plain to see but he was doubly incensed just before half-time when a mix-up between Cristian Romero and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield allowed Onana to storm through and send an equally woeful finish into the stands.

In between those big chances, Pickford was alert to smother a Kane run in the box and beat Son to a through ball before Richarlison saw a deflected effort from distance spin wide but Spurs – back in action at their home ground less than 72 hours after beating Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League – were flat and short on spark.

Richarlison scored 53 goals in four seasons at Everton but that would be his last major contribution to a game he would have been relishing, as he was frustratingly forced off with injury just five minutes into the second half. Yves Bissouma came on in his place – and soon after a re-jig in formation Spurs were ahead.

Pickford showed lightning reactions to keep out a Kane effort but with the home side’s next attack he fumbled a routine stop from Doherty and lost the race with Kane for the loose ball. There was no stopping Kane’s drilled finish and he celebrated just as emphatically in front of the huge stand of Spurs supporters behind the goal.

Kane tried for a second as a buoyant Spurs pushed forwards but it was Hojbjerg who proved to be the unlikely match-clincher. With Everton pushing on there was space at the back when Bentancur sent the ball across the edge of the area and the Dane clipped in a shot off Alex Iwobi to seal the three points, before making a tribute to the club’s late fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone with his celebration.

Redknapp: Conte’s tactical switch turned the game

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp praised Antonio Conte’s decision to send on Yves Bissouma for the injured Richarlison early in the second half and switch from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2.

“The manager deserves credit,” said Redknapp. “Conte made a good substitution at a time when the game was going nowhere – it looked to be petering out. He could have brought on Bryan Gil or Lucas Moura when he lost Richarlison but he decided to thicken up the midfield and push the wing-backs up. It was hard for them in the first half as they were getting outnumbered in midfield. If you get more bodies in there you can control the game.”

What’s next?

Tottenham are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Old Trafford to take on top-four rivals Manchester United, with kick-off at 8.15pm.

Antonio Conte’s side then return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to host Newcastle – live on Sky Sports – with kick-off at 4.30pm.

Everton are also on the road in their next game, with the Toffees heading to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle on Wednesday – with kick-off at 7.30pm.