Everton proved their own worst enemy in a game that highlighted both their progress and their limitations.
Last season, Tottenham Hotspur hammered the Blues 5-0 in a match that bluntly exposed how Frank Lampard's side was facing a battle for Premier League survival. Seven months later, the team that qualified for the Champions League and the side that just avoided relegation were separated by no more than a spot-kick from Harry Kane and a late, deflected Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg goal, scored when the visitors chased the game.
The narrow margin of defeat will do little to ease the disappointment felt by Everton boss Lampard after an effective gameplan was undermined by missed chances and a penalty that, while soft, could have been avoided. The Blues' coaching team can take some comfort from the performance but will be left frustrated that, just like against Manchester United, their team lost this game rather then forced their opponents to win it. That frustration and disappointment will be the overriding emotions from this defeat shows the progress made in such a short time. But it also made clear the work that still needs to be done at Finch Farm.
