Never before had a Tottenham team failed to find the net in the opening four league fixtures of a campaign. That is the record Roberto De Zerbi’s side dragged themselves into on Saturday afternoon.
The clock at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ticked past 400 minutes without a Spurs goal in the competition, the drought stretching to 407 minutes by full time. Only Crystal Palace, who went seven games without scoring at the start of 2017-18, have suffered a longer opening blank in the Premier League era.
Solanke touched the ball 19 times
The performance itself gave De Zerbi’s players little cover. Tottenham had 14 shots but only two on target and an expected-goals total of 0.64, against Everton’s 1.17 from 12 attempts. Starting striker Dominic Solanke did not have a shot and touched the ball 19 times.
Jan Paul van Hecke, one of the summer arrivals, missed from close range in the fifth minute after an Andy Robertson free kick. In the second half, Mateus Fernandes’ weak effort drew ironic cheers from the home end, and goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky nearly gifted Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall an Everton opener. David Moyes’ side, still unbeaten, took the point back to Merseyside.
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“We are sorry for the fans”
De Zerbi did not dress it up afterwards.
“We are sorry for the fans,” he told reporters.
“They were fantastic today, especially in the first part of the game.”
The Italian said his team had opened well before losing their way.
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“I am not positive and not negative, I am realistic. If you play like this for 30 minutes, it’s because you are capable to play this kind of football.”
He then pointed at the problem in the final third.
“We went into the goal area 74 times but we didn’t create the chances to meet our quality of play.”
Tonali and Fernandes lead £237m spend
The scoreline sits uncomfortably next to the club’s summer outlay. Tottenham conducted the most expensive transfer window in their history, with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Van Hecke alone accounting for a combined £237m and free arrivals Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka added to the squad.
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De Zerbi, appointed on a long-term contract on 31 March, pointed to fitness and continuity as unresolved problems after a summer disrupted by the World Cup.
He said the squad was still carrying the effects of a summer with many players at the World Cup, and had picked up two or three injuries in the build-up, citing Fernandes, Micky van de Ven, who had been in Australia, and Solanke.
“In many parts of the second half I observed my players with less confidence and I don’t like this.”
First goalless draw at the new stadium
Saturday’s stalemate was the first goalless draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League across its 140 matches in the competition, and the first Spurs home 0-0 in the league since September 2017, when the club was still playing at Wembley during the stadium build.
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De Zerbi’s side travel to Aston Villa on 19 September in their next league fixture.
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