Tottenham’s goalless draw with Everton extended their winless Premier League start and left Roberto De Zerbi’s side without a goal in their opening four matches.
Spurs have now gone more than 400 minutes without scoring in the competition, with the 0-0 stalemate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium greeted by boos at the final whistle.
It was another blunt attacking display following last weekend’s goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. Tottenham managed only two shots on target, created one clear chance and recorded an expected goals figure of 0.64.
Their best opportunity came inside five minutes, when Jan Paul van Hecke headed Andy Robertson’s free-kick over from close range. Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was otherwise largely untroubled until late in the match.
Mateus Fernandes produced Tottenham’s first effort on target shortly after half-time, but his weak shot went straight at Pickford and was met with ironic cheers from the home supporters.
Everton had the more threatening moments as they sought their first away league victory since February. Brennan Johnson, formerly of Tottenham, missed a promising chance by blazing over, while Antonin Kinsky made several important interventions.
The Spurs goalkeeper saved James Garner’s long-range free-kick just before half-time and denied Thierno Barry’s back-post header after the interval. Kinsky was fortunate when he passed directly to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whose shot was struck straight at him.
Pickford then ensured the points were shared in the 89th minute, recovering superbly to save from Lucas Bergvall after giving the ball away.
Tottenham’s goalless run draws criticism
The result marked the first time Tottenham have failed to score in each of their first four league matches of a season. It was also the first 0-0 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a Premier League match, and Spurs’ first home goalless draw in the competition since September 2017.
Jamie Redknapp described the sequence as “absolutely diabolical”, saying: “After spending £300m, I didn’t think there would be a problem scoring goals. But to not score in six hours of football is absolutely diabolical.”
He added: “They have not got the right balance in the team. There are so many problems to solve in a game just to score a goal.”
