Behind the scene: Postecoglou in hot word exchange with VAR officials after despite Tottenham edging Everton 2-1

Despite it seeming to go his way when it disallowed an Everton goal in the second half of Tottenham’s 2-1 home victory, Ange Postecoglou criticized VAR once more.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin thought he had given the Toffees a 2-0 lead after goals from Richarlison and Heung-min Son, but referee Stuart Attwell went to the screen on VAR’s recommendation and ruled it out for a foul that Andre Gomes had committed on Emerson Royal.

Gomes’ excellent goal eventually put Everton ahead 2-1, but Postecoglou continued to criticize VAR after the game even though his team managed to win all three points.

When asked if Everton’s disallowed goal demonstrated that VAR had benefited his team, Postecoglou retorted, “Why would it help us out?” It was not fair. It was of no use to us. VAR is not to my taste. People employ language that “helps” or “goes against” things, and that’s part of the issue.

“Even though it’s a used tool, I still don’t like it.” Did it assist us? It may or may not have aided us. We could have scored a third if that goal had stood. The allure of football lies in that. As I’ve previously stated, I don’t like how VAR is being used, and I didn’t like how it was used today either. Yes, in my opinion it was a foul. However, the referee overlooked it and most likely overlooked another foul as well. That is a component of football and the game.

The Australian stated, “The result is very pleasing against a really difficult opponent,” after a fiercely contested win. You can understand why Everton has been the most successful team in the competition these past few weeks: they put in a lot of work.

“We had a strong start to the game. Finally, we overtook them. We simply eased back a little bit after we took a 2-0 lead, and I believed that gave them the opportunity to reenter the game.

“Vic [Guglielmo Vicario], who was excellent again today, made a couple of spectacular saves. We gave a varied performance, so it had a little bit of everything, but what’s nice is that we still managed to win three points.

We had to protect ourselves at times, and we did. Vic made several excellent saves tonight and was excellent. We have had him since day one, and although we didn’t always need him, we did today. He has been fantastic.

Sometimes he makes one or two saves in a game, if any at all, but he’s been crucial to our organization and build-up. However, we needed his goalkeeping today. It goes beyond his saving percentage. The goalie, in my opinion, held up rather well considering how strong they are from corners and how much pressure they apply.

Eric Dier took Cristian Romero’s position at center back throughout the half. “We had to take him off because he felt tightness in his hamstring just before halftime,” disclosed Postecoglou.

Tottenham’s victory guaranteed them a fourth-place finish going into Christmas. They will play their next game away, against ninth-place Brighton, on December 28.