Everton vs. Tottenham Hotspur Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Everton and Tottenham Hotspur played out a scoreless draw at Goodison Park on Sunday, with the biggest talking point being a bizarre incident between Hugo Lloris and Romelu Lukaku.

The two clashed as the former claimed a through-ball from Gareth Barry, and despite Lloris appearing concussed and ready to be substituted, the Frenchman refused to leave the pitch and played on.

Both sides traded spells of possession across the 100 minutes, but neither came truly close to scoring.

We expected an even, steely encounter from the get-go, but Spurs flew out of the blocks and began to dominate.

Jan Vertonghen, playing as a left-back in the absence of Danny Rose, set the agenda for Tottenham's attacking prowess by marauding down the flank early and often to great effect.

Without rhythm or tempo, the home side failed to produce any semblance of passing, with Spurs clamping down on the midfield and creating turnovers in advanced areas.

On two occasions, superb positions were wasted by the away side due to a poor final ball, with Aaron Lennon in particular guilty of flunking his cross after entering the box. 

Vertonghen was then seemingly chopped down in the penalty area by Seamus Coleman midway through the first half, but nothing was given, and it felt like a matter of time before Spurs would take the lead. The one positive for Roberto Martinez in the first half was that they didn't; despite mustering just two shots on goal, his side went into the break level.

Leighton Baines and Gareth Barry did an excellent job of bottling up Andros Townsend by engaging him early and covering the flanks, while Romelu Lukaku looked dominant whenever he received the ball.

Whatever Martinez said at half-time seemed to work, though, as the Toffees started the second period at a blistering pace.

Lukaku led a three-on-two on the break, and only a stunning sliding challenge from Vlad Chiriches prevented Kevin Mirallas from having a free shot on goal.

Everton then began to find their groove and dominate possession, and at one point they enjoyed a split of 80-20 percent in their favour over a 10-minute period.

Andre Villas-Boas shuffled his pack by swapping Sandro for Mousa Dembele, but the move sacrificed some of the superior physicality Spurs had been enjoying in midfield.

The introduction of Ross Barkley swung the pendulum the other way, and in the final 20 minutes Everton looked far more likely to score.

Vertonghen clearly clipped Coleman's ankles inside the other penalty area in the first half, but again nothing was given, perhaps evening out the battle of injustices for the afternoon.

Despite the many tinkerings of each manager, the game ended scoreless. Gerard Deulofeu's jinking run into the box and subsequent cross shot had Lloris worried, but overall neither side truly threatened to breach a sturdy defence at either end.

Post-Match Reaction

Roberto Martinez spoke to Sky Sports about the start his side has made:

"

We have been very pleased with the start of the season and the way the squad is shaping up, now it is a matter of getting through the middle third of the campaign and seeing where that takes us.

"

Key Player Grades

Gareth Barry, Everton: A-

Barry was in fantastic form once again for Everton, doubling up on Townsend with Baines and providing a calming presence in midfield for the second half.

Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham: A-

In the left-back role, Vertonghen brought some much-needed balance to a Spurs side who've suffered on the flanks of late. He set the attacking agenda in the first half.

Full Player Grades

Player	Position	Grade
Substitutes
Tim Howard	GK	A
Seamus Coleman	RB	C+
Phil Jagielka	CB	A-
Sylvain Distin	CB	A-
Leighton Baines	LB	B+
Gareth Barry	DM	A-
James McCarthy	DM	B-
Steven Pienaar	LW	C+
Leon Osman	AMC	C+
Kevin Mirallas	RW	B-
Romelu Lukaku	ST	B-
Ross Barkley	AMC	B+
Gerard Deulofeu	RW	B
Nikica Jelavic	ST	N/A

Player	Position	Grade
Substitutions
Hugo Lloris	GK	A-
Kyle Walker	RB	C+
Jan Vertonghen	LB	A-
Michael Dawson	CB	B
Vlad Chiriches	CB	A
Sandro	DM	A
Paulinho	DM	B-
Lewis Holtby	AMC	B-
Aaron Lennon	LW	C+
Andros Townsend	RW	B-
Roberto Soldado	ST	C
Mousa Dembele	DM	C+
Gylfi Sigurdsson	LW	C+
Christian Eriksen	AMC	C+

What's Next?

Everton travel to Selhurst Park to grapple with managerless Crystal Palace next weekend. Tottenham host FC Sheriff in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, knowing a win would ensure they qualify for the latter stages of the competition.

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