Spurs overcome slow start to beat Everton 2-0

Son Heung-min, right, in action against Everton's James Tarkowski during a match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur beat Everton 2-0 at home on Saturday, overcoming some first half jitters to put on a confident performance after the break.

Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 59th minute with a well-placed penalty, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg adding No. 2 in the 86th minute.

The combination of Kane, Richarlison and Son Heung-min up front once again seemed to cause some confusion as Spurs’ too-many-cooks problem continued in the first half, an issue that persisted until Richardson left the field in the 52nd minute.

The robust attack also left Tottenham at a disadvantage in the midfield, where Everton had far more bodies, allowing the visitors to run circles around them early in the game.

Everton had the best goal scoring opportunities in the first half, and probably should have gone up by a couple if it wasn’t for their own offensive mishaps.

Richarlison’s departure in the 52nd minute proved to be the turning point of the game, with Conte recognizing that the three-up-front approach wasn’t working and bringing on Yves Bissouma to shift to a 3-5-2 formation.

Kane’s goal quickly followed, with Hojbjerg adding a second 30 minutes later.

Son played the full 90 minutes and put in a solid performance, connecting well with Ivan Perisic and dragging the Everton defense around the box with a number of wide plays.

With the win, Spurs now sit in third place in the Premier League on 23 points with seven wins, two draws and a loss, behind Manchester City in second and Arsenal in first. Chelsea trail in fourth place on 16 points.

Spurs have a busy week in the Premier League this week before returning to the Champions League next week. They’ll face Manchester United in a midweek game on Wednesday, before taking on Newcastle on Sunday.

Champions League action resumed next Wednesday when Tottenham face Sporting Lisbon, the only team to beat them in the competition so far.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]