Ange Postecoglou under serious pressure as strange Spurs decision backfires in Everton nightmare | OneFootball

Postecoglou must take a significant share of the blame after needless system switch contributes to first-half horror show at Goodison Park

Tottenham’s dismal run in the Premier League continued as they were beaten 3-2 by Everton, despite a late fightback.

Conceding the third in first-half stoppage time was to prove a killer blow, as Ange Postecoglou's depleted side mounted a second-half fightback, inspired by attacking substitutes Richarlison and Mikey Moore.

Dejan Kulusevski pulled one back after Moore’s shot was blocked and Richarlison converted the teenager’s cross to score again against his former club.

Here are three Spurs talking points from the match…

Roughest defeat yet leaves Spurs in peril

Of all Tottenham’s defeats this season, this was one of the roughest in spite of a late rally, as they were blown away by struggling Everton in the first half.

Only a string of saves from goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky prevented Spurs from suffering a historic loss, which may have been comparable to the 6-1 drubbing at Newcastle under Cristian Stellini in April 2023, when they were five goals down inside 21 minutes.

The visitors were a shambles, woefully disorganised defensively, lacking presence in midfield and blunt in attack, with captain Heung-min Son squandering three good openings in the first half-hour.

Everton deserve credit and looked revitalised in a first victory since the return of David Moyes, but you could not help but feel that Spurs made it easy for the hosts.

Before the match, Postecoglou refused to be drawn on whether his side could be in a relegation dogfight but it is increasingly a question worthy of consideration.

The win moved Everton to within four points of Spurs, who still have an eight-point cushion to the bottom three – but Postecoglou’s side are in genuine freefall.

They have now won just once in 10 League games – and that was a stroll against bottom club Southampton in Russell Martin’s last match in charge.

Next up in the league is a home game against 19th-placed Leicester after Thursday’s visit to Hoffenheim in the Europa League.

On paper, Spurs should be firm favourites to beat the Foxes but such is the state of their squad, nothing can be taken for granted.

Postecoglou’s system switch backfires

A knee injury for Dominic Solanke in training and knocks for Brennan Johnson and Yves Bissouma against Arsenal left Spurs without 10 first-team players at Goodison Park as their injury crisis reached ridiculous levels.

There is a compelling case that the club’s slow start to the transfer window has badly exacerbated the situation; Postecoglou has been repeatedly calling for a new forward since the start of the month, but Spurs have lost three forwards to injury in the past 10 days.

Injuries, though, could not excuse the level of their performance on Merseyside, for which the manager must take a significant share of the blame.

Postecoglou’s switch to a back three – with Gray, Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies in defence – backfired, with Spurs wildly disorganised defensively in the first half.

It was strange to switch systems – especially as Spurs could conceivably have stuck with a 4-3-3 formation, with the players available – and left the visitors looking woefully unprepared for the challenge of facing a physical Everton side.

Postecoglou will presumably argue that the scale of his absentees forced his hand but surely Spurs would have been better off with a familiar setup.

There has been no appetite at Spurs to sack Postecoglou, with the club committed to a long-term project and accepting that he has been hamstrung by injuries.

The manager must, though, be considered under serious pressure, with Spurs in desperate need of addressing their spiralling league form fast.

Moore offers reason for optimism

The outlook for Spurs is gloomy given the scale of their injury problems and the relentlessness of the schedule but there remain reasons for optimism, chiefly in the form of the cup competitions and the development of their young players.

While Lucas Bergvall and Gray have impressed in recent weeks, here it was the turn of Moore, who came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining and proved the catalyst for Spurs’ futile comeback.

The 17-year-old winger made Richarlison’s stoppage-time finish with a wonderful, curling cross to the far post, and was also involved in the build-up to Kulusevski’s strike when his blocked shot rolled into the path of the Swede.

Moore looked electrifying when he found space down the left flank and will surely now start against Hoffenheim in Germany on Thursday night. While the present is wretched, Spurs’ future continues to look bright.