Calvert-Lewin Shines as Everton Secures Vital Win Over Spurs

Everton coach David Moyes praised Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a "proper number nine" after the England striker led his team to a crucial 3-2 Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

With England manager Thomas Tuchel watching from the stands at Goodison Park, Calvert-Lewin was a constant threat to the Spurs defense, scoring the opener—his first goal in 17 matches across all competitions. This goal elevated the 27-year-old to third place on Everton's all-time Premier League scorers list, behind Romelu Lukaku and Duncan Ferguson, just as Moyes, in his second tenure with the club, seeks to avoid relegation.

Moyes noted, "If we look at Dominic, he had three chances in midweek. He had the same today, scored, and could have netted more. When a striker is getting chances, that's a positive. Scoring will boost his confidence."

He continued, "People keep saying he hasn't had many opportunities, but he's had chances in the last two games and now a goal. The key takeaway is that he played like a proper number nine at times. He made the center-backs uneasy, posed a threat, and won a good number of aerial duels. He was involved in many positive plays today."

The match nearly took a turn for the worse in the second half, as two late goals from Spurs threatened to spoil Moyes’s first win since his return, but Everton managed to secure the vital three points.

"The whole team looked transformed today," Moyes remarked. "We played well and moved the ball effectively, although we did give it away too often, which we need to fix.

"I’m just really glad we could give our fans something to celebrate. They nearly left without anything. We scored three and had chances for a fourth. In the end, it didn’t matter how we played, as long as we won."