Tottenham 2-1 Everton: Richarlison haunts former club as Spurs claim narrow win to go fourth

Richarlison, the former Everton striker, found the back of the net for the fifth time this season in the league, contributing to his former team's downfall in a 2-1 Premier League defeat. Tottenham, on the other hand, secured their third consecutive victory just before the Christmas period.

After securing four consecutive victories in the top-flight without conceding a goal, Everton entered the match with the intention of maintaining their strong defensive performance.

However, their hopes of extending their clean sheet streak were dashed by Richarlison, who found the back of the net in the ninth minute.

The former Everton player capitalized on Brennan Johnson's pass to score his fourth goal in his last three appearances.

Despite conceding an early goal, Everton came close to equalizing when Dominic Calvert-Lewin connected with Vitaliy Mykolenko's well-placed delivery. However, Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made an impressive save to deny them.

Instead of restoring parity, Sean Dyche's team found themselves trailing by two goals after Son Heung-min scored his 11th goal of the season. The South Korean international capitalized on a rebound following Jordan Pickford's save from Johnson's shot during a well-executed short corner.

With a significant deficit to overcome, Everton missed a golden opportunity to score just before halftime when Jack Harrison's left-footed shot was saved by the determined Vicario.

In the early stages of the second half, Everton finally breached Vicario's defenses, but their joy was short-lived as Calvert-Lewin's goal in the 51st minute was disallowed due to a foul in the build-up.

Everton continued to push for a goal, and James Garner came close to scoring with a powerful effort that struck the outside of the post, leaving them frustrated.

Their persistence paid off in the 82nd minute when Andre Gomes capitalized on a corner and drove the ball into the bottom corner, marking his first appearance of the season with a goal.

Despite their efforts to find an equalizer, Everton's search proved fruitless, and their four-game winning streak in the league came to a disappointing end.

While Everton remains in 16th place, Tottenham's victory propelled them above Manchester City into fourth position.