Tottenham demolish Everton: Spurs player ratings for massacre at Goodison

Davinson Sanchez-7.5

Pochettino surprised a few people (at least me) by throwing Davinson Sanchez right into the starting XI. Evidently Pochettino has seen a lot of quality play from the Colombian training. Sanchez made his manager look brilliant after an excellent 90 minutes against the Toffees.

The biggest shock about his debut was that he played in the centre of Spurs’ back three. That role has been owned by Toby Alderweireld for the last year, but Sanchez does fit the profile a bit better. He used his exceptional strength and pace to snuff out Everton’s attackers on several occasions.

The only slight mark against him was his propensity to give away a silly foul or corner kick. Once he’s more comfortable with his teammates he should be able to correct those minor mistakes. All in all it was an excellent performance for Tottenham’s record signing. Expect to see him stay in the starting XI.

Jan Vertonghen-7.5

Vertonghen looked right at home playing on the left of his club’s back three. He didn’t need to do a ton of defending, but he got every challenge he needed to commit just right.

His accomplished defending also played a big role in Ben Davies’ ability to get forward with confidence. Don’t underestimate just how important Vertonghen’s play is to his Welsh teammate’s offensive success.

Toby Alderweireld-8

Alderweireld may have been forced out of his customary position but you couldn’t tell by his play. He adapted perfectly to playing as the right-sided centre back.

In fact, the Belgian used his new-found freedom to push the attack forward on several occasions. Look for that to be a common theme in his new position. Having an immense athlete like Sanchez behind him is only going to embolden him to move forward in attack. Expect to see a lot more ambitious diagonals from Alderweireld as he grows into his new role.