Tottenham Hotspur failed to score for a fourth consecutive Premier League match on Saturday, held to a 0-0 draw at home by Everton and left languishing in 17th place under head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The result left Spurs without a Premier League goal for nearly seven hours of football, a drought that has piled pressure on De Zerbi despite a squad including Dominic Solanke, who started the match, alongside Omar Marmoush, Mathys Tel, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall.
Everton's team news centred on captain Jack Grealish being left on the bench, though he was introduced as a substitute and combined with Jaydon Hackney in stoppage time to set up Josh Dewsbury-Hall, whose deflected effort forced a corner that was ultimately headed behind.
Redknapp: 'Absolutely Diabolical'
Speaking on Sky Sports, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp said Everton had earned a great point but questioned how a squad assembled for around £300million could go so long without scoring. He said not scoring in six hours of football was "absolutely diabolical," adding that Spurs "have not got the right balance in the team" and face "so many problems to solve in a game just to score a goal."
Everton captain James Tarkowski, also speaking to Sky Sports, said his side had weathered an early storm to secure a clean sheet and a point away from home. He said Tottenham started really well and it was very tough, but Everton stuck in there and grew into the game as it went on, creating a couple of chances to take all three points. He added that the game felt like it was going at 100mph, that Tottenham were straight back in Everton's face whenever they gave the ball away, and that Everton failed to make the right decisions in those moments before eventually settling and creating chances of their own.
Late Chances Go Begging
Tottenham pushed hard for a winner late on. Everton's Ben Garner was booked for a foul on Savio after Tottenham brought on Maddison for Marmoush in the 79th minute, and Everton later replaced Gray, who had headed over from a promising position, with Tosin. Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite twice denied Tottenham inside a few second-half minutes, blocking efforts from both Sandro Tonali and Savio, while Tyler Armstrong headed over his own crossbar in the scramble that followed and later cleared behind a cross from Kudus that Branthwaite had first cut out.
In stoppage time, Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford gave the ball away to Maddison, allowing Bergvall to shoot from the edge of the box, but Pickford saved it. From the resulting corner, Pickford punched clear, Tel won the loose ball, but Armstrong hacked it behind again for another corner that came to nothing.
Spurs Slip to 17th Amid Boos
The draw leaves Tottenham 17th in the Premier League table, with home fans growing increasingly frustrated at a squad featuring Marmoush, Solanke, Savio, Kudus and Maddison going four matches without a goal. Boos rang around the stadium as the final whistle approached.
Other Results Across the Premier League
Elsewhere on a busy Saturday, Liverpool were held 0-0 at home by a struggling Fulham side managed by Alvaro Arbeloa, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid defender.
Chelsea drew 2-2 with Hull City after Rogers put the hosts ahead in the seventh minute. Hull's Belloumi then scored twice, in the 28th and 34th minutes, to lead 2-1 at half-time and briefly send Hull top of the table, before Pedro's 66th-minute equalizer completed the comeback for Chelsea.
Crystal Palace lost 2-3 at home to Ipswich Town despite playing more than half the match with ten men. Khalaili put Palace ahead in the 14th minute, only for Emersonn to equalize in the 23rd. Palace then had a player sent off before Davis put Ipswich 2-1 up right on half-time. Strand Larsen leveled for Palace in the 76th minute, but Flemming struck in the 90th to hand Ipswich the win.
Nottingham Forest won 2-1 at Aston Villa, a game that was goalless at half-time. Delap put Forest ahead three minutes into the second half, Alysson equalized for Villa in the 74th minute and Forest had a goal disallowed before Jesus scored the winner in the 88th minute.
Bournemouth and Brentford shared four goals, with the match locked at 2-2 in the closing stages covered by the live blog. Schade put Brentford ahead in the 34th minute, Kluivert equalized for Bournemouth in the 38th to make it 1-1 at half-time, Tavernier put the hosts 2-1 up in the 52nd minute, and Schade struck again in the 56th to make it 2-2.
Arsenal Travel to Sunderland
Saturday's Premier League programme continued into the evening, with Arsenal traveling to Sunderland's Stadium of Light for an 8pm kick-off.
