Everton can’t find antidote
giving Son Heung-Min a clear run at goal from the halfway line which he coolly converted.
Son had controversially been booked for diving after what looked like a legitimate penalty appeal in the first half – the decisions of Oliver were about the only thing that did not go Spurs’ way on the day.
And Pochettino confronted Oliver after he denied Son his second penalty of the season.
“Do you think Son deserved to be booked? Unbelievable,” said Pochettino. “I reminded Michael Oliver of the situation against Liverpool in the last minute. Today, it should be a penalty to two teams, but not one. It was a clear penalty.
“I am a person that always accepts mistakes but it was so strange the situation today.”
Son is the fourth Spurs man to be booked for simulation this season, joining Danny Rose, Lucas Moura and Kane.
“I don’t know if we are being targeted.” added Pochettino. “If it is as you say, I don’t know why. We are such nice people.”
The worry for Spurs, though, is this ability to snatch victories in the absence of their talisman is very much a league thing.
Dortmund come to Wembley on Wednesday and Spurs are going to have to find a way to play much better than this if they are to avoid being ushered towards the exit of their third cup competition since Kane picked up his ankle injury.
For Leicester, there was no hiding the error in letting Vardy take that crucial spot-kick as Puel accepted responsibility.
“I gave him the opportunity to shoot the penalty,” said Puel. “We don’t know whether it was a good thing or not.
“I asked him if he felt the same he could take the penalty. But it’s not just the penalty – it’s all the game. We had all the opportunities to get back into the game.”
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1):
Lloris 8; Trippier 6, Sanchez 7, Vertonghen 6, Rose 7 (WalkerPeters 88); Sissoko 7, Winks 6; Skipp 5 (Alderweireld 71, 6), Eriksen 7, Son 7; Llorente 6 (Wanyama 80). Son, Rose, Vertonghen. Sanchez 33, Eriksen 63, Son 90. Dortmund (h), Wed CL.
Schmeichel 7; Pereira 7, Evans 6, Maguire 7, Chilwell 7; Ndidi 6, Tielemans 7; Maddison 7, Barnes 5 (Okazaki 88), Ghezzal 6 (Iheanacho 72, 6); Gray 5 (Vardy 60, 6). Tielemans. Vardy 76. C Palace (h), Feb 23 PL.
M Oliver (Northumberland).
Booked: Goals: NEXT UP: LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Booked: NEXT UP: Referee: Goal:
AFTER all the “snake” taunts at Marco Silva, it was the same old Everton – a load of cobras.
As a fifth defeat in six and an unhappy return to Vicarage Road piled the pressure on Silva, Michael Keane preached stability.
But with Everton now four points behind Watford and a yawning 32 behind their nearest neighbours, it seems unclear whether Silva and Everton’s marriage will have a happy ever after.
The two clubs are still deadlocked in a tapping-up row after
Silva’s bitter departure last year. Watford’s pre-match playlist was pure Monty Python: Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’, Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ and Al Wilson’s ‘The Snake’.
The soundtrack did not get any better for Silva, notably the thunderous rendition of ‘Javi Gracia, he’s better than you’.
Keane, at Burnley when the Clarets were
WATFORD
relegated but who stood by boss Sean Dyche, said: “We all rate the manager and we’re all pulling for him.
“He’s doing a good job but things aren’t going for him at the minute.
“Managers go through bad spells, but sometimes the best way ahead is to stick with them and they come out the other side.
“We’re confident we can do that. Stability is important.”
Watford’s winner, Andre Gray’s fifth of the season, came from a half-cleared corner that Everton felt should never have been awarded.
To compound Silva’s misery, defender Kurt Zouma was sent off after the final whistle for excess verbals.
Keane said: “We’ve had so many bad refereeing decisions this season it has become a bit of a joke.”