Goalless at Goodison in Conte's First League Game as Spurs Boss

Sunday 7th November 2021

Match Report

Everton 0 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – I think we're in for a real battle. It's a stern test for both managers, with Conte looking to get off to a winning start in the Premier League, and Benitez aiming to avoid a fourth successive defeat.

It'll be tricky away from home, but I'm backing us to be boosted by Conte and get a 2-1 win."

Conte named the same side that started in his first game in charge against Vitesse on Thursday. Everton were without their main striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Spurs showed good energy in the opening stages, with crisp passing and players looking keen to get forward.

Romero was clearly under instruction to launch long balls from the back up toward the top left corner flag for Reguilón to dart onto. Unfortunately he failed to hit his target on the first few times of asking.

It seemed to be a theme of our play, as on the 22nd minute Kane successfully laid it out to Reguilón, who had space down the wing to cross, he found Royal at the far post, but he stooped under the header and it ended up over the top.

Everton were out to rough-up Spurs, with heavy challenges flying in all over the pitch. Delph finally received their first yellow card on 25 minutes, a sliding challenge on Moura the offence.

Spurs kept it compact, anticipating chances to counter.

Our best chance came right before the break – Son found Kane down the right side, he whipped in an excellent cross that found Reguilón racing in at the far post, he couldn't get over the ball though, and his sliding effort flew over the bar.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – Chances have been in short supply so far. There's been a lot of passing in triangles in midfield followed by balls out wide for wingers to run onto, but interceptions or fouls keep breaking up play. We've seen a couple of chances at each end, but neither keeper has been truly tested. In short, this game's there for the taking. Hopefully Conte can kick them into gear in the dressing room, and we come out and find a breakthrough in the second half."

A positive start to the second half saw Spurs on the front foot.

Ben Davies was having a good game. He brought an end to dangerous Everton attacks twice in quick succession with well-timed tackles.

On the 60th minute he almost grabbed himself a goal – The ball broke to him having been cleared out of the area and he laced a shot toward the top corner. Unfortunately it was just wide of the mark.

Moments later the ref awarded a penalty to Everton after Lloris had dived in at the feet of Richarlison, who was in on goal. The Spurs players protested that Hugo got a glove on the ball, and thankfully VAR proved that point. The decision was overturned, and it ignited fury in the Everton players and their support.

Tottenham found themselves heavily under the cosh, with the atmosphere at boiling point inside Goodison, and it looked like a goal was coming.

Spurs weathered the storm, and on 71, Conte reacted by making a double change – Moura made way for Lo Celso, and a strange decision as left-back Reguilón was replaced by right-back Doherty.

Two minutes to go and Højbjerg made a brilliant tackle in the centre circle, he set Skipp away, who drove forward before laying off to Lo Celso on the top right side of the area. He ventured inside with it before unleashing a wicked left-footed shot that crashed against Pickford's post.

Conte's final throw of the dice came on the 85th minute, with Son making way for Ndombele.

Spurs pressed for a winner, and in stoppage time Everton were reduced to ten men – Holgate had only been on the pitch for ten minutes when he flew into a shocking follow through down the back of Højbjerg's knee. Originally awarded a yellow, VAR suggested the referee should take a closer look on the monitor, he did so, and the decision was changed to a red.

There wasn't enough time for Tottenham to capitalise on the man advantage, and the final whistle blew.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – As expected, it was a dogged battle up north, and we emerge with a rare goalless draw. There were a couple of good chances to win it, with Lo Celso hitting the post, and Reguilón blazing over from Kane's cross. The fact we failed to register a shot on target is concerning though. To be fair, either side could have won it, and Conte has had next to no time to work with his squad yet. We'll take the point, and look ahead to taking all three from Leeds when we're back in action on the 21st after the International break."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 7 – Wasn't tested very often, but kept a clean sheet. Did well to win the ball at the feet of Richarlison in the overturned penalty decision.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Wasn't too involved. Solid enough to help toward protecting the clean sheet.

• 4. Cristian Romero – 7 – Locked in an Argentine - Brazilian battle with Richarlison throughout. Lucky not to see red for a silly headbutt moment with him at one point. Distribution wasn't great, but made a few crucial headers, blocks and tackles.

• 33. Ben Davies – 8 – Promising performance from him in that left-side of the back three. Tidy in possession and made a number of strong tackles to prevent Everton counter attacks. Well-timed sliding challenge as last man covering Dier at one point too.

• 12. Emerson Royal – 6 – Not terrible, but has work to do adapting to the right wing-back role. Far better going forward than he is at getting back. Fluffed a headed chance in the first half, and would have liked to see more threatening crosses from him.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 8 – Battled throughout, making a number of tackles, interceptions and important blocks. Kept things ticking over in midfield with plenty of passing in triangles. Good to see a driving run from him in the build-up to Lo Celso hitting the woodwork.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 7 – Full of fight today. Got around the pitch breaking up Everton attacks and linking together Tottenham ones. Still a little too sideways with his passing, and couldn't evade a sliding defender with a crucial pass on the counter out to the right wing on one occasion.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 5 – Clearly used as an outlet from the off. Bounded up and down the left side admirably, but it looked to have an impact on him, as he gave the ball away multiple times.

• 27. Lucas Moura – 5 – Classic Moura performance – Looked full of purpose and positive intent every time he had the ball at his feet, but kept running into opposition players and losing possession.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 5 – Disappointing day for Son. Struggled to get involved in the game. His role is a lot more central with the inclusion of wing-backs in Conte's system. A lot of the best moments we've seen from him have been racing up the wings. Hopefully he can adapt his game.

• 10. Harry Kane – 6 – Looked lively in moments on the ball, collecting it around the area and picking out passes. Didn't have the desired impact in front of goal though, and it's yet another game without scoring.

Substitutions:

• 3. Sergio Reguilón <-- 71' --> 2. Matt Doherty – 4 – A surprise to see him played on the left side. Didn't look comfortable and didn't do a lot.

• 27. Lucas Moura <-- 71' --> 18. Giovani Lo Celso – 5 – Looked half asleep when he first came on and gave the ball away on a couple of occasions. Almost won us the match with an excellent curling effort that he was unlucky to see hit the post. Scuffed a vital corner in stoppage time.

• 7. Son Heung-min <-- 85' --> 28. Tanguy Ndombele – N/A – Introduced too late to have a real impact.

Man of the Match – 33. Ben Davies