Roberto Martinez pinpointed Everton's improved defensive showing as the highlight of the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The Toffees had conceded 12 goals in six Premier League matches prior to the weekend's visit of Spurs and to deal with a team of such attacking quality resonated well with the Spaniard whose side remained 11th on the table following their ninth draw of the campaign.

"It's not the result it's the performance," Martinez told Sky Sports.

"We have been a little bit lightweight in the way that we have defended our box and today was an incredible change.

"The way we defended was a really good platform for the performance. Spurs did have a lot of possession but we knew how to create clear-cut opportunities.

"They had a lot of the ball but they never found their real key players - [Christian] Eriksen, [Erik] Lamela, Harry Kane didn't really have any good play. That was down to our defensive organisation.

"Overall the performance, particularly from a defensive point of view - which has cost us a lot of points in the last few games - was terrific."

Former Spurs winger Aaron Lennon opened the scoring at Goodison Park with a well-taken strike in the 22nd minute before Dele Alli responded for Spurs when controlling Toby Alderweireld's lovely pass brilliantly with his chest and volleying home under duress from Seamus Coleman.