Scoring a stunning goal was not the expected way for Yves Bissouma to make amends for his recent indiscretions. But after Ange Postecoglou picked the 27-year-old, who was suspended by the club for the season opener for his laughing gas indiscipline, the Mali midfielder set his team on the way to a comfortable win over Everton.
Bissouma rattled home the opener off the crossbar from the edge of the box in the 14th minute — his first goal for the club in his 56th appearance.
Captain Son Heung-min, deputising for Dominic Solanke as the striker, doubled the lead 11 minutes later by dispossessing the dozing Jordan Pickford and stroking home inside the box.
Cristian Romero headed in a third after the break 19 minutes from time before Son scored a second after Micky van de Ven’s surging assist. Spurs won’t have many easier matches than this for a long time.
The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and Jay Harris analyse the key talking points.
Is Bissouma forgiven?
Ange Postecoglou said on Friday that Yves Bissouma’s response to his suspension for his laughing gas misdemeanour had been like a punished child, whose behaviour is perfect for the two days after being told off.
The midfielder continued to respond in the best possible way, back in the starting line-up, playing well and scoring a brilliant first goal for the club.
Bissouma only played because Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a head injury in the 1-1 draw away to Leicester City. This was probably a return to the team sooner than he might have anticipated. But he could not have done any better than this. He organised play well, always showing for the ball and keeping things moving.
But even more importantly, he scored the opener: a beautiful first-time hit from just outside the box as Spurs struggled to find their way through a crowded penalty area.
Bissouma celebrates his goal (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
This was always going to be a game in which getting that first goal was vital, but Bissouma’s emotional celebration showed the goal had an extra meaning for the player too.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Will Odobert be a regular starter?
It was a surprise to see Tottenham’s new signing Wilson Odobert thrown straight into the starting XI. He had only trained with the squad a few times since completing his £25million ($32.3m) move from Burnley so it was a huge show of faith in the 19-year-old from Ange Postecoglou to select him ahead of Timo Werner on the left wing. Odobert immediately justified the decision and was electric throughout.
Odobert is unafraid to drive directly at defenders and he caused Jack Harrison and Roman Dixon, who was making his debut for Everton, a lot of problems. He was helped out by James Maddison and Destiny Udogie. They were swarming Everton down the left wing, playing one-twos and finding space in behind with ease.
Odobert showed a desire to track back too and in the eighth minute pulled off a slide tackle just outside his own box to stop an Everton attack.
Odobert was quick to get on the front foot (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
The winger’s standout moment arrived midway through the first half when Pedro Porro pinged a ball across the pitch towards him. The easiest option would have been to pass it first time back to Udogie, but he pulled it down and swivelled in one elegant movement before motoring forward.
The whole stadium let out a shriek of excitement in response. There were a couple of rash moments including a wayward pass which nearly led to Jesper Lindstrom scoring for Everton but overall it was an encouraging debut performance which suggests there is a lot more to come.
Jay Harris
Should Son play centrally more?
This was supposed to be the game in which Tottenham’s club-record signing Solanke properly introduced himself to the supporters after an encouraging debut against Leicester. However, the 26-year-old picked up an ankle injury during that match which presented Postecoglou with a dilemma about who to play up-front against Everton.
Dejan Kulusevski excelled in that position during pre-season but Postecoglou prefers him as an attacking midfielder or right winger. Richarlison missed all of pre-season through injury and is lacking match sharpness. It meant Son started in that role.
Son is always at his best playing out wide but he demonstrated he can still be an emergency No 9 when required. Within the opening two minutes, he crafted an excellent goalscoring opportunity for Romero when he dinked the ball over Everton’s defence from the second phase of a corner. Romero should have scored but he hammered his shot straight at Pickford.
Son scores his second (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Son works diligently out of possession and was constantly chasing down loose balls. It paid off in the 25th minute when he followed James Tarwkowski’s back pass to Pickford. Everton’s goalkeeper took a heavy first touch, and Son dispossessed him and tapped the ball into an empty net.
The South Korea international’s second goal was much better but that was largely due to Van de Ven. The centre-back blocked a shot on the edge of his own box and then charged 60 yards up the pitch. He released the ball at the perfect moment to Son, who squeezed the ball in between the post and Pickford’s body into the net.
Spurs were guilty of being wasteful against Leicester but did not make the same mistake against Sean Dyche’s injury-hit team.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
Postecoglou said he wants Yves Bissouma can be “the best version of himself” after scoring on his return to the Tottenham team. “Biss was good and we know Biss is a good footballer.
“It’s about him being the best version of himself. He will only get there if, as we’ve spoken a few times, discipline is a big thing for him. And I thought it was a disciplined performance for him today. Not just the goal he scored, but he had a really important job for us.”
Postecoglou revealed that he moved Son back into the centre forward specifically to press Pickford’s kicking, which resulted in Tottenham’s second goal just before the break.
“It’s the reason I put him in the middle, because we know Jordan is a big part of their build up play, and they use him a lot. And Sonny’s the best presser that we have in the front there, he’s unbelievable. He relished that role and again showed his threat when he went out on the left with that great finish.”
Postecoglou also hailed the return to form of James Maddison, who now has two assists for the season.
“Madders was really good and again, really disciplined,” he said. “He mopped up a few times when they’ve gone long and kept the ball for us. He had a really good synergy with Wilson (Odobert) early on, and then he made some great runs. The key for me with Madders, is if he’s physically good, if he’s feeling 100 per cent, he can produce those kind of performances. It’s when that drops off a little bit… it affects him. He’s had a really strong pre-season and that makes him feel like: you know what, I can go out there, and do the stuff I do.”
What next for Tottenham?
Sunday, September 1: Newcastle United (A), Premier League, 1.30pm BST, 8.30am ET
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