Le Tissier hits out after analysing Everton controversy – they got this badly wrong
Everton were on the receiving end of a poor decision as Jake O’Brien’s leveller was ruled out for his teammates’ interference with Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
That is the verdict of Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he feels Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye did not do enough to put the Spurs stopper off saving the header in their clash on Sunday (26 October).
Tottenham emerged 3-0 victors against Everton over the weekend as they became the first away team to win a competitive game at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Micky van de Ven opened the scoring with a header from a corner in the 19th minute, but the Toffees thought they had scored a quickfire equaliser five minutes later as Jake O’Brien also bagged with his head from a set-piece.
The goal was soon ruled out by VAR after a lengthy check, and that allowed the visitors to go on to win as Van de Ven notched his brace and Pape Sarr put the gloss on the victory late on.
Jake O’Brien’s goal ruled out after controversial VAR intervention
O’Brien rose highest from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner in the 24th minute to power home past Vicario, but the Tottenham keeper immediately complained to referee Craig Pawson that he felt he was being blocked from saving it.
VAR official Stuart Attwell ordered an on-field review of the leveller, and it was ruled by Pawson that Grealish and Ndiaye, who were both stood offside, had interfered with Vicario’s ability to keep it out.
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett told Football Insider following the incident that O’Brien’s goal against Spurs should have stood, as the contact was minimal and the goalkeeper’s line of sight was not crossed.
The 3-0 scoreline has seen Everton slip to 14th in the Premier League with just one win in their last five games, while Tottenham are now third.
Le Tissier insists Everton were hard done by with disallowed goal
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England and Southampton striker Le Tissier explained that he felt the goal being chalked off was harsh on the hosts as Vicario was unlikely to save the header regardless of the Everton players’ interference.
He said: “I thought it was a pretty soft goal cancelled out. I thought it was a little bit harsh. I’m not sure the players right by the goalkeeper really did too much to stop him from trying to save that ball.
“I don’t think he would have saved it anyway. So, yeah, I mean, they can count themselves a little bit unfortunate there, Everton, but Spurs made the best of it and fair play.”
He also insisted that Tottenham will struggle to compete at the top of the league this season after they were lucky to win against the Toffees by such a wide margin, saying: “I’m not sure I’ve seen enough from Spurs at the moment to tell me that they’d be consistent enough to be title challengers.
“Yes, it was a good 3-0 win yesterday. Did I look at that game and think they deserve to win 3-0? Probably not. I thought in the second half Everton were the better team. It looks like a comfortable win. I don’t think they’ve [Tottenham] got enough in the squad to be able to challenge consistently for the title this season.”