Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start under Roberto De Zerbi deepened as they were held to a goalless draw by Everton, leaving the London club without a Premier League goal after four matches.
Despite dominating possession for long periods, Spurs struggled to create clear-cut opportunities and failed to seriously trouble Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The result extended Tottenham’s goalless league run to 407 minutes and marked the first time in their history that they had failed to score in their opening four league matches across England’s top four divisions.
It was also the first goalless Premier League draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the venue’s 140th league game.
The barren spell is particularly concerning given Tottenham’s heavy investment during the summer, with more than £300 million spent on strengthening De Zerbi’s squad.
Spurs struggle to turn possession into goals
De Zerbi made several attacking changes in an effort to end the drought, handing Dominic Solanke his first league start of the season while deploying new arrivals Omar Marmoush and Savio in attacking roles.
Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison were also introduced as Spurs searched for a breakthrough.
But the hosts continued to lack a cutting edge.
Their first shot on target did not arrive until Mateus Fernandes forced a save from Pickford, prompting ironic applause from frustrated supporters.
Lucas Bergvall came closest to producing a winner late in the match after Pickford gave the midfielder possession, but the Everton goalkeeper recovered to deny him from distance.
Everton themselves had opportunities to snatch all three points, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Brennan Johnson missing the visitors’ best chances.
De Zerbi apologises to supporters
The growing frustration inside the stadium was evident at full-time, with Tottenham supporters responding with boos after another disappointing attacking display.
De Zerbi apologised to the fans but insisted his team showed enough in the opening stages to suggest improvement is possible.
“I’m sorry to the fans. We are sorry to the fans,” he said.
“They were fantastic, especially in the first part of the game because when they see the team is playing well, pushing to find the solution, they were inside the pitch with my players.”
The Italian acknowledged that Tottenham’s confidence dropped as the match progressed.
“In the second half, I observed many players had a little less confidence and I don’t like this,” he said.
“They have to be happy and understand we are in the right way.”
De Zerbi added that Tottenham’s early performance gave him hope that results would eventually improve.
“If we play 90 minutes like we did in the first 30 minutes, I think we are going to win many games,” he said.
Lack of attacking threat raises concern
Tottenham’s underlying attacking numbers also provide little comfort.
Their expected-goals figures suggest they should have scored several times this season, but their low expected conversion rate highlights their difficulty in creating high-quality opportunities.
The problem was again evident against an organised Everton defence led impressively by Jarrad Branthwaite.
Tottenham’s players repeatedly hesitated around the penalty area, took too long to shoot or looked for another pass instead of assuming responsibility.
The situation is an uncomfortable one for De Zerbi, who arrived with the task of rebuilding a side that had endured consecutive 17th-place Premier League finishes.
The last league goal Tottenham scored came against Everton on the final day of last season, when Joao Palhinha found the net.
Since then, Spurs have been unable to find the breakthrough in the league, despite their substantial summer spending.
With the wait for both a first Premier League win and a first league goal continuing, De Zerbi now faces an urgent task to restore confidence and attacking sharpness to his expensively assembled squad.
