Michael Keane wants to forget Everton's worst performance of season while Spurs boss comments on new signing's display

David Cooper - Writer 19:38 10/09/2017
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  • Michael Keane (R) under pressure from Tottenham's Christian Eriksen.

    Michael Keane is in a hurry to banish Everton’s worst performance of the season with a midweek trip to Italy.

    The Toffees were unbeaten in their first six games in domestic and European competition but have now followed defeat at Chelsea with a 3-0 hammering at home by Tottenham.

    Saturday’s performance was by some distance their least cohesive so far, losing their shape and purpose after falling behind to a fluke Harry Kane cross-shot.

    Christian Eriksen’s close-range finish and a second from Kane saw them sunk just a minute into the second half and they were probably fortunate not to concede more.

    Focus must quickly shift to the Europa League, though, and Keane wants to use the group stage opener against Atalanta to right some wrongs.

    “Yes, thankfully we have Europe. We need to get this game behind us and the best way to do it is to play another one,” said the England centre-back.

    “I can’t wait to play Thursday personally and get another chance to put things right. We’re into the group stage, which is big for us. But we’ve also got to put Tottenham behind us quickly and move on the next few days.

    “I’m sure the lads will be raring to go to try and get the win.”

    Spurs took the points thanks to familiar match-winning contributions from Kane, who scored his 100th and 101st goals for the club, and Eriksen, while Dele Alli and Ben Davies were also to the fore.

    But there was also a notable newcomer, with £42million defender Davinson Sanchez making his full debut in a rock-solid back three and Moussa Sissoko starting for just the second time this season.

    Sissoko has rarely impressed in his time at Tottenham but was an effective presence in a central midfield role.

    “I think he was good today, I’m happy with the performance,” said Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

    “When you win 3-0 and you play well it’s easy to say different things, but I am happy with him, he’s part of my plan and he was very good.”

    As for Sanchez, he added: “(He was) very good, the performance was solid. The good thing is that he was very calm and relaxed on the pitch. He was aggressive and played the ball. I’m very happy because he’s young and in the Premier League when you start to play and come from the Netherlands it’s always a big impact.”

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