Everton 0 Tottenham 3: Harry Kane enjoys August ending with brace as Spurs coast to victory

It is fast-becoming one of English ­football’s great traditions. August turns to September, the sun goes in, the schools go back and Harry Kane starts scoring again.

Once more, Tottenham Hotspur’s prolific England striker had endured an August drought. The 24-year-old has, astonishingly, never scored at top level in that month but yet again, come September, the goal touch returns.

This year he resumed the scoring habit with two strikes for England against Malta on the opening day of the month. Then another double, the goal that set Tottenham on the way to victory, his hundredth in all competitions for the north London club, and a ­second to seal an emphatic triumph on Merseyside.

In between, Christian Eriksen also beat overworked Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on an afternoon in which Tottenham staged easily their most polished and effective display of the short season so far.

Spirits rising, they can now turn their attentions to Wednesday’s Champions League examination by Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, Tottenham’s temporary home, where they are still awaiting a first win of the season.

Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham manager, said: “It was an important victory for us. Every player played really well and I am very pleased.” He also had words of praise for Kane. “He has scored 100 goals for Tottenham. He ­deserves our congratulations, it is an unbelievable mark for him,” he said.

For Everton, however, alarm bells are sounding. This was a deeply flawed performance in which the gulf in quality between them and Tottenham was, at times, embarrassingly apparent.

Jeered off at half-time by their d­isgruntled supporters, Everton were three goals in arrears within seconds of the restart and the rest was a glory, glory Tottenham Hotspur parade.

Everton, of course, also have a striker of England pedigree in their ranks but this was not to be his day.

Front-page headlines, back-page splashes, international retirement, goals and a drink-driving charge, the one thing Everton could have been ­assured of in the prodigal’s return was that life would never be dull with Wayne Rooney. This, though, was an afternoon to forget. The returning hero was largely ineffective in a woeful team display and both he and his team-mates must now urgently rediscover some sense of belief and organisation before next Sunday’s testing visit to Rooney’s former club, Manchester United.

Ronald Koeman, the Everton manager, said: “Going 1-0 down broke a bit of our confidence. At half-time we tried to pick up the team, we made two substitutes and changed the positions of the midfield two but if you start how we started the second half, that was poor. Then one team is full of confidence and Everton is without any confidence and you see the difference. But Tottenham, maybe with Man City, have the best football side in the Premier League.”

Everton, it should be said, started brightly and might even have been in front in the seventh minute, Sandro Ramirez turning Cuco Martina’s low cross just wide. Gylfi Sigurdsson, ­Everton’s £45 million acquisition from Swansea City, facing another of his ­former clubs, was off-balance as he skied from 20 yards.

That was as good as it was going to get. Tottenham’s start to the season, ­aggravated by the Wembley factor, might have been somewhat underwhelming but the title challengers of the past two seasons can still glide up through the gears in impressive style.

Their three-man defence, with club record £42 million man, Davinson Sanchez, impressive at its core, soon settled to the task and with Moussa Sissoko shining in the midfield diamond, Tottenham’s quality was soon evident for all to see and way beyond Everton’s limited capacity to deal with.

Eriksen and Sissoko had both gone close when, in the 28th minute, the likeliest source provided the breakthrough in somewhat unlikely fashion. Eriksen’s corner had been half-cleared to beyond the edge of the home penalty area where Kane, lurking deep, seemed intent on swinging in a cross, but instead saw the ball sail over Pickford and into the net. Even Kane looked surprised, and later admitted he had been aiming in a centre.

Everton’s early promise was fading fast and Tottenham moved in for the kill. Three minutes before the interval, Dele Alli’s cross fell for Ben Davies, the constantly threatening left wing-back. His drilled shot was blocked by ­Pickford but the rebound fell perfectly for Eriksen to rifle in.

Goodison looked on in horror as Everton suddenly appeared in danger of complete collapse. Alli just failed to apply a spectacular finish to a cross from Kane, who then dragged his shot wide as the half-time whistle brought a volley of jeers from the stands.

Koeman’s response was a double interval change, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tom Davies replacing Ramirez and Davy Klaassen, though there were any number of candidates for early removal. It took Tottenham 47 seconds to demolish Koeman’s plans for a revival. Davies sprung forward again, his cross caused confusion between Pickford and Michael Keane, and Kane swept in.

Thus, with all but half of the game remaining, it was over as a contest. The pace of the match dropped steadily, the stands slowly emptied and it only remained for Rooney to pick up a late booking for clattering Alli. For Rooney, and Everton, it was that kind of day.