Sticky Stalemate as Toffees induce unwanted records: Reviewing Everton Home MW4
Written By Sai Reddy https://x.com/ttid_reddy
Tottenham were held to a 0-0 draw for the second game in a row when Everton came to visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium here in Matchweek 4. This meant that for the first time in the club’s 144 years of existence, Tottenham failed to score for the first FOUR games of the league; coincidentally this was also the first-ever premier league goalless game at the new stadium, an event that occurred after 137 league games. Finally, with just two home league wins in 2026 so far, this now means Tottenham have played over 400 minutes of league football without scoring this season.
However, with all the unwanted archives now out of the way, Tottenham did come away with a second successive clean-sheet of the season while looking like the favorites to win it for the large parts of the game. Let’s dive in!
Pre-match injuries and line-up
Tottenham’s issues for the Matchweek 4 started days before the kickoff, with the gaffer announcing in the pre-match press conference that both Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro would miss the match owing to short-term fitness concerns. This in addition to Mudryk picking up a long-term injury earlier in the week ruling him out until at least after the international break. The gaffer also mentioned that Maddison would be part of the matchday squad with the creative midfielder missing a couple of games with shoulder concerns which was welcome news. So, Tottenham started off with their staple 4-2-3-1 with Gray and Robertson coming in as full-backs; Mateus Fernandes also started in-place of Connor Gallagher which gave the midfield a better attacking prospect. The final change was up-top with Solanke coming in place of Mathys Tel (who dropped to the bench) with Omar Marmoush (at least on paper) starting off the left.
The Match Story
The home-side began the game on the front foot and remained the more pressing team for the entirety of the first-half, reducing Everton to a couple of set-pieces. Mateus Fernandes made brilliant third-man runs in the opposition box but was found wanting when he either refused or took long to take an attempt on goal. Savio was brilliant on the right-side, consistently running at Mykolenko and posing constant questions to the Toffee’s defense; ably supported by Archie with his overlapping runs. The left-side was however an entirely different story - it seemed when in possession, Robbo was the only Tottenham player in a 60-yard straight line on the wing with Marmoush routinely picking up the role of a second striker in the box. While the contrastive wing-play did offer attacking threat, Spurs didn’t have clear-cut chances to break the deadlock thanks to some solid defensive performances from the visiting side. Rodrigo Bentancur was immense yet again in midfield, incessantly pressing and winning the ball back high up the pitch, perpetually stopping potential counters and keeping possession under pressure ensuring the defense was largely untouched going into the break.
Akin to the Forest game, Spurs started off slow in the second-half allowing Everton to grow into the game and create a couple of half-chances for their lone-striker Thierno Barry up-top; nothing Kinsky couldn’t handle. WIth the game calling for a change, the first-round of substitution came in around the hour mark with Kudus, Tel and Bergvall coming on for Bentancur, Fernandes and Solanke in what looked like a welcome attacking shift from the manager; which meant for around 15 minutes or so, Kudus played as number 10. This shift was almost immediately put to bed within minutes, when Everton’s best chance of the game came along the way of Dewsbury-Hall. Van Hecke played a back pass to Kinsky who in-turn attempted a risky short pass straight to Tonali at the edge of his own box; Garner read it to cut it off and put Everton’s creative mid in on goal only for him to be thwarted by Kinsky’s left leg, who waved a hand of apology after atoning for his error.
The game started to open up a bit more, with both teams smelling the chance to get all three points; when the ex-Spurs man Brennan Johnson squandered a chance from the edge of the box by failing to hit the target after being put in from the left. The 75th minute mark saw James Maddison come on to the pitch to a huge round off applause with the Spurs fans anticipating a winner; on for Marmoush, Kudus shifted to the wing with Tel playing up-front. Tottenham’s best chance however, came in the 89th minute when Jordan Pickford seemingly replicated his counterpart, and gave the ball away with a treacherous low pass into the midfield. Madders slid to win the ball and knocked it into Bergvall’s path who took a touch and shot from 20 yards to find the bottom-right corner only to be thwarted by Pickford’s excellent left hand. In the midst, Tel got booed a bit for playing it too safe with his back to goal, Tosin was handed his debut near the final whistle and while the home side had a few corners at the death, the decisive first-goal of the season remained elusive.
Onwards and Upwards
So, amidst a few rising injury concerns, being goalless a month after season’s kickoff and attaining unwanted historical features, Spurs did show a much improved performance at home with a second-successive clean-sheet and plenty of attacking promise. And while there were question marks at Archie Gray’s ability as second-choice right-back, Spurs look strong defensively; so albeit a sub-par result, if the team routinely starts finding the back of the net, the only way forward is onwards and upwards. COYS!
