Sean Dyche’s Everton came from a goal down to draw against a managerless Tottenham Hotspur side, who took the lead courtesy of a Harry Kane penalty.
Despite Antonio Conte being sacked by the Lilywhites during the recent international break, Spurs’ demons still haunted them as, even with their ever-growing possession as Everton sat back, they only registered eight shots, which is just over half of the Toffee’s 15 attempts.
The feisty affair almost saw Everton capitulate with two lapses in concentration.
First, Abdoulaye Doucoure saw red as he lashed out at Kane, striking the England forward, who recently broke the record for the most goals for the nation, in the face.
Then, centre-back Michael Keane caught too much of Cristian Romero inside his box, which resulted in a Spurs penalty.
However, the 30-year-old colossus’ match was a rollercoaster which ended in joy. The former Manchester United graduate was undeniably involved in almost all of the key moments of the match – including his stoppage-time screamer to level the scoreline.
How did Michael Keane do against Spurs?
Keane, who was awarded a match-high 7.8 rating on Sofascore, had his first positive involvement as he cleared the ball off of the line in the first half after Kane’s strike had left Jordan Pickford stranded.
The defender, praised for being in “fine form” by manager Dyche after the game, had also won 80% of his aerial duels, but it was a defensive mistake which was the next stop of his emotional rollercoaster of a match.
A late challenge on Romero gave the Lilywhites the opportunity to break the deadlock and, as we have become so accustomed to seeing, Kane tucked away the penalty against his compatriot in the Toffees’ goal.
Keane’s next involvement was being on the receiving end of the challenge which brought the visitors level on players. Lucas Moura, who insisted that he “didn’t mean” to foul the Everton player so irresponsibly, lunged into the tackle dangerously and was lucky that no harm was brought to Keane.
However, the £80k-per-week centre-back’s arc of redemption was complete in stoppage time when he adventured forward with the ball and stuck it past Hugo Lloris from distance into the back of the net, which was one of his three shots, whilst he also managed to complete a whopping 92% of his 36 passing attempts, via Sofascore.
The goal, which had an expected goal ratio of 0.02 on FotMob, ensured the hosts were awarded a well-earned point from the fiery occasion.
This draw now sees Everton out of the relegation zone and into 15th position as they try to remain in the Premier League, with Keane – an early villain on Monday – now looking to build on such exploits.