Everton's four-match Premier League winning streak came to an end as they suffered a 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.
Lacklustre early defending was the cause of the Toffees' defeat despite being the better side for much of the content in north London. Andre Gomes scored in his first outing for Everton in 19 months but Sean Dyche's side will rue missed chances and poor concentration in their own third.
Everton had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the seventh minute when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was set free by Dwight McNeil. However, the striker took too much time to adjust his feet and saw his shot blocked.
And that miss was punished by Spurs two minutes later through a slick move that was rounded off by former Blues favourite Richarlison. Brennan Johnson then spurned a chance to put Tottenham two goals ahead in the 12th minute.
Everton then created another big opening to equalise as Vitalii Mykolenko's cross picked out Calvert-Lewin - but saw his header saved. And yet again, the home side made Sean Dyche's men pay. The Blues' defending from a corner was haphazard and although goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept out Johnson's shot, Son Heung-min reacted first to the loose ball and crashed home.
To their credit, Everton responded well but just couldn't find the back of the net. James Garner had a low effort well kept out by Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario while Jack Harrison lacked composure when set free in stoppage-time.
Dyche's troops thought they'd reduced the deficit six minutes into the second period when Calvert-Lewin finished from an acute angle. However, that goal was chalked off following a VAR review as Gomes was adjudged to have fouled Emerson Royal.
James Garner then struck the post for Everton as frustration continued. Yet they finally scored with nine minutes remaining when Gomes - playing his first game for the club since May 2022 - slammed home.
That set up an exciting finish, with the Toffees pushing for a leveller. Arnaut Danjuma was denied by Vicario before James Tarkowski's header from a corner was blocked by Spurs' Ben Davies. Then in the dying embers, Dwight McNeil's cross picked out Danjuma on the stretch - but his effort struck the bar and then ricocheted off Vicario to deny what would have been a deserved equaliser.
Here's how we rated the Everton players.
1. Jordan Pickford - 6
Little chance with either goal, making a save before Son's effort. Made a decent stop in the second period.
2. Nathan Patterson - 5
Had a tough job marking Son and booked for a careless foul in the second period.
3. James Tarkowski - 6
Allowed Richarlison to get the wrong side of him for the opening goal. Had a decent second period, to his credit, making two robust tackles.
4. Jarrad Branthwaite - 7
Got dragged out of position slightly for the first Spurs goal but didn't do badly at all throughout against a potent Spurs attack.