Van de Ven double lifts Tottenham to victory at Everton

LIVERPOOL, England :Two headed goals by Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven helped his side to a 3-0 Premier League win over Everton on Sunday as the visitors became the first team to win in the Merseyside club's new stadium.

Tottenham made a sluggish start but took the lead in the 19th minute when Dutch defender Van de Ven nodded in from virtually on the goal line following a corner.

Jake O'Brien thought he had equalised soon after but his powerful header was disallowed for an infringement on Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Van de Ven doubled Tottenham's lead with another close-range header from another corner in first-half stoppage time to leave Everton with a mountain to climb.

Vicario made some superb saves in the second half as Tottenham protected their advantage and substitute Pape Matar Sarr headed a late third to secure the victory that lifted Tottenham to third in the table with 17 points from nine games.

Everton are 14th with 11 points.

Before kickoff at the gleaming Hill Dickinson Stadium on the banks of the River Mersey, Everton were the only team in the Premier League not to have conceded a goal from a set piece.

By halftime that boast was redundant as the hosts were twice left red-faced by corner routines.

Set pieces have become a theme of the season so far with corners and long throws being utilised across the top flight with increasing success.

Tottenham showed they are keeping up with the fashion as both their goals smacked of simple training ground ploys.

First Mohammed Kudus swung in a deep corner beyond the back post when Rodrigo Bentancur improvised with his shoulder to send the ball back into the area where Van de Ven pounced.

Tottenham's second goal was also simple but deadly. This time Pedro Porro