Poch coy on 'rumors' as talk turns to Tottenham title tilt

LIVERPOOL - Tottenham Hotspur showed why manager Mauricio Pochettino is a wanted man by thrashing Everton 6-2 at Goodison Park on Sunday to close to within six points of Premier League leader Liverpool.

Spurs have had to cope with the unwanted attention of Pochettino being linked with the Manchester United job following Jose Mourinho's firing last week.

But they showed no signs of being distracted as they roared back from a goal down thanks to doubles from Son Heung-min and Harry Kane with Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen also on target.

"There are a lot of rumors but our job is Tottenham and we have to be focused to try to be successful," said Pochettino.

Fatigue may yet still derail Tottenham's bid to win a first trophy under Pochettino with Spurs still involved in four competitions.

But with Liverpool facing Arsenal and second-place Manchester City over the Christmas period, Tottenham has the opportunity to haul itself into a three-way title race if it maintains the standards set at Goodison Park.

"Football is about being consistent. If we are consistent and able to play like we did today then maybe we are alive until the end of April and be a real contender," added Pochettino.

"We are involved in four competitions but I think today we surprised everyone because not only the quality, but the energy we showed today was amazing.

"I'm so pleased, so happy. We came from a really tough game on Wednesday against Arsenal (a 2-0 League Cup victory) and today the team was so fresh."

Everton struck first against the run of play in a wildly open contest when Theo Walcott stabbed home at the near post from Dominic Calvert-Lewin's cross.

But Spurs looked as if they could score with almost every attack and were soon on level terms with the aid of a Jordan Pickford error.

The England goalkeeper rushed off his line but only succeeded in getting in the way of his own defender Kurt Zouma as Son took advantage with a wonderful finish from a narrow angle.

"We dominated the game from the start, we created so many chances, so we were unlucky to be 1-0 down," said Son.

"But we bounced back, showed our character and our mentality. We are happy to get three points here."

Kane class

Once back on level terms, Spurs were relentless as Pickford denied Son a second but Alli charged into the box to sweep home the rebound.

Kane is now just one goal behind Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang at the top of the Premier League scoring chart and showed his predatory instincts to side-foot into an empty net after Kieran Trippier's fine freekick came back off the post three minutes before halftime.

"I think everyone is talking about Liverpool and Man City, but we are just doing well as we normally do," said England captain Kane.

"We've had a great week, we've got games coming up thick and fast but games we can win."

Both teams face the least rest time of any Premier League side over the festive period with another three games to come between now and New Year's Day.

However, there was no let up in the pace of the game after the break as Eriksen fired home a sweet volley from the edge of the box to make it 4-1 before Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled a goal back for the Toffees three minutes later.

Yet, any hope of a fightback was extinguished in the 61st minute when Son's fine control cushioned Erik Lamela's pass before he finished through the legs of Pickford.

It was announced this week that the South Korean will go to the Asian Cup in January despite this year representing his country at the World Cup and Asian Games.

And Son showed why he will be missed by his club with an inch-perfect cross for Kane to slide in for his second 16 minutes from time.

Agence France Presse