Everton vs Tottenham result: Five things we learned as Cenk Tosun’s header secures Marco Silva’s side a point

Everton 1-1 Tottenham: Cenk Tosun's late header cancelled out Dele Alli's well-taken opener as the two sides

Cenk Tosun's late header secured Everton a point (Getty)

1. Ben Davies gets his captaincy chance

With Hugo Lloris injured, Harry Kane ill and Jan Vertonghen absent with a bothersome hamstring, the Tottenham captain’s armband was hauled over the elbow of Ben Davies, in at left-back for the suspended Danny Rose.

The decision to hand the captaincy to your second-choice left-back looks a strange one, outwardly, but there is some logic to Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to give Davies the nod over, say, a Son Heung-min, Toby Alderweireld or Harry Winks. Davies is not quite so entrenched in the mire that Spurs find themselves in, so should have been able to add a little bit of perspective from slightly outside of the group.

2. Christian Eriksen looks lost

Christian Eriksen looks a man without purpose at the moment, drifting through games with little tangible impact, little energy or effort or sense of being. Where once he was the embodiment of all that was good about Mauricio Pochettino’s side, with verve and vigour abundant, he is now, in many ways, an encapsulation of Tottenham’s ills.

He appears certain that his future is elsewhere, but creative roles at the bigger European clubs are largely filled, and Eriksen’s string of ineffectual showings are hardly making him an attractive prospect for any potentially interested parties. Would Giovani Lo Celso really be a worse option in attacking midfield?

3. Desperation not to lose leads to drab first half

It was a properly awful first half at Goodison Park, with a game fully content to trundle along in a lifeless manner. With both sides desperate to avoid defeat, neither was willing to inject with the energy or invention required to jolt the contest into life. And so along the game went in a holding pattern of midfield muddles and slow attacks, as the two sides duelled in the most cautious of manners.

The half only served to illustrate what happens when the need not to lose outweighs the desire to win, and what we got was utterly atrocious. The second half was not too much better, though Dele Alli’s well-taken goal, a couple of VAR consultations, the Andre Gomes injury and Cenk Tosun‘s late header at least meant there was action on which to comment.

4. VAR questions remain

The use of VAR was again questionable during Everton’s draw with Spurs (Getty)

It is becoming a little nauseating just how often VAR is a talking point, but we had the rare double-look at an incident in this encounter, so it bears mentioning again, unfortunately. When Yerry Mina tumbled into the legs of Son Heung-min and the South Korean fell to floor under contact, Martin Atkinson shook his head, and it was over to video assistant referee Anthony Taylor to overturn his decision. You can argue either way on the incident, which could quite easily have been ruled a penalty, but what can not be argued is that the VAR system continues to be

Quite why the sideline screens aren’t being used, despite apparent urging to do so from Premier League clubs, is a mystery. That Taylor at Stockley Park decided the Son incident merited twice delaying the restart so he could affirm his decision but not a second look for Martin Atkinson is an indictment in and of itself. If the whole point of introducing VAR is to make more right decisions and aid referees, why is a system that affords them time and a second look being completely ignored?

VAR has been an abject failure thus far, and even the biggest proponents that the implementation of the technology has been completely wrong.

5. Andre Gomes’ sickening injury

A final word goes to the Portuguese midfielder, who suffered what appeared to be a horrible ankle injury after a collision with Serge Aurier. Son Heung-min was sent off for his challenge preceding the unfortunate incident, and the South Korean can count himself a little unlucky, with the outcome perhaps refereed rather than the challenge itself.

Putting that to one side, one hopes that Gomes will recover from his injury somewhere near the fine player he is. It looks, sadly, the sort of injury that will have a long rehabilitation period, and likely leaves Everton without a key midfield presence for an extended period of time. Marco Silva could ill-afford such a loss, but Gomes’ long-term health is the more important matter. A speedy recovery to the midfielder.