Tottenham vs Everton

At some point, a goalless streak stops being a run of bad luck and starts being a symptom. Tottenham Hotspur have now played three hundred and sixty Premier League minutes without scoring a single goal. Four matchweeks. Zero goals. Two points. Roberto De Zerbi was appointed to play beautiful, attacking football. His side is playing football that has a recognisable shape but has no real end product to speak of, at least through the first four games.

It was not for a lack of effort. Spurs created moments — enough of them to make the goalless scoreline feel slightly harsh. Jean Paul van Hecke, the Dutch defender pushing forward from centre-back, had an effort blocked from a corner that came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half. Archie Gray, the young midfielder who has been one of the few positives of De Zerbi’s early tenure, struck from outside the area with his weaker foot and found the wall. Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian forward, drove forward on two separate occasions and was denied both times by the organisation of the Everton back line.

Sandro Tonali was the most interesting performer on the pitch. The Italian midfielder — still finding his feet in De Zerbi’s system after being one of the most expensive buys in the Premier League this summer — showed glimpses of what he could become in this team. His through-ball to Archie Gray in the thirty-seventh minute was genuinely excellent — weighted perfectly, timed to split the Everton midfield line — only for James Garner, sharp and well-positioned, to intercept and deny what would have been a clear opportunity. Tonali had moments. He also had a game that reminded you how much consistency still needs to develop.

Everton were well-organised, pragmatic, and occasionally dangerous. David Moyes’ side had the better of the second-half chances — a sequence of corners producing two half-decent headed opportunities that Kinsky dealt with relatively well — and Barry, playing as the lone striker, gave the Spurs centre-backs a difficult afternoon physically without ever getting the service to convert his work rate into a goal. The Toffees, with six points, are unbeaten in the Premier League, and have been playing with a solidity that makes them genuinely hard to beat.

Jarrad Branthwaite was central to that solidity. The young England international was excellent — commanding in the air, brave with the ball at his feet, and composed under the kind of sustained, if not overpowering, pressure that Spurs applied. He read the game well, organised those around him, and produced the standout defensive display of the afternoon in a match where good defending was the only thing on offer.

For De Zerbi, the questions are growing louder. His possession-based philosophy demands technical execution and attacking conviction. His squad has the first and is not yet producing the second. The formation changes, the personnel tinkering, the press conferences where the manager speaks about the future with great confidence — none of it changes the fact that Tottenham have not scored a Premier League goal since August. battleSTAR Galáctico: Jarrad Branthwaite — commanded the Everton defence, was the standout individual in a match short on standout individuals, and earned his side a point they very much deserved.