Ange Postecoglou urged Yves Bissouma to stay on the right track after the Tottenham midfielder took his first steps on the road to redemption with a wonder strike against Everton.
Spurs boss Postecoglou had likened the midfielder to a naughty child who was now behaving himself, having been suspended for one match by the club for taking laughing gas.
Restored to the starting line-up, the Mali international instantly repaid Postecoglou’s faith with a stunning 20-yard drive to open the scoring.
It was Bissouma’s first Spurs goal, in his 57th match for the club, and put them on their way to a thumping 4-0 win.
Bissouma marked it with a contrite celebration before running up to the touchline to hug his manager.
“Biss was good and we know Biss is a good footballer,” said Postecoglou.
“It’s about him being the best version of himself. Discipline is a big thing for him and he was disciplined today. It was a good performance.
“There’s no doubting his ability to do something special. But he needs to make sure he does everything right on and off the field to give him the platform to show who he can be as a footballer. We certainly believe in him. It’s up to him to keep going on.”
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford blotted his copybook when his dreadful error allowed Son Heung-min to double Tottenham’s lead.
James Tarkowski played the ball square to his keeper from a throw-in but as Pickford tried to switch feet, he took a poor touch allowing Son to nick it and tap into an empty net.
After the break Cristian Romero headed a third and Son struck again late on to wrap up a convincing win.
“The performance was excellent,” added Postecoglou.
“We looked really threatening going forward all the time, created many different kinds of chances and handled their threat really well.
“We looked a threat from different areas. If we are going to turn compelling performances into consistent results that’s what we have to do.”
Back-to-back defeats at the start of the season for the third straight year sees Everton already slipping towards full crisis-club mode.
“It’s a strange situation, here,” said boss Sean Dyche.
“We kind of build something, and then we have to go down the hill and build it again. What about playing when it’s 0-0?
“We’ve done well when the challenges have come our way. We’ve done great. So I reminded them of that afterwards. Reminded them that this is not our first rodeo.
“We get written off and then we start changing the storyline again. It’s a never-ending challenge at Everton.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
