A point was all that Everton took away from White Hart Lane on Saturday evening, as they drew 0-0 with Tottenham. We took a look at five things learned from the game, in which the spoils were shared.
1. Everton were lucky to draw
When the final whistle blew, Everton fans blew a big sigh of relief as the team walked away with a point somehow. Tottenham controlled the game from the beginning of the game and had all the major chances in this game. It took some luck and some great saves by Tim Howard to ensure Everton a point in this game. They did not deserve a point but they somehow got it done.
2. Tim Howard kept Everton in this game
The man of match was Tim Howard. He made some crucial saves to not only get the Toffees a point, but he kept them from being blown out by Spurs. He made a key save from Harry Kane in the first half when Kane was one on one with Howard, the USA goalie stuck out his leg to deny Kane his first goal this season. It took some other solid saves in the second half that denied Tottenham a goal they deserved. It was a fantastic performance from the 'keeper, who looked to be back to his best after a troubling start to the season.
3. Toffees had tired legs throughout the game
After playing in a extra time match against Barnsley in the Capital One Cup this week, Everton were tired and it showed. In the second half, the players seemed to drag and seemed keen at sitting back and allowed Spurs to win all the 50-50 balls in this match. Players like John Stones and Phil Jagielka, who played all 120 minutes in the cup, and all 90 minutes today will be looking forward to a rest in the next coming days.
4. Romelu Lukaku had a poor game
The Belgian had one of his worst games of the season as he failed to create any real chances against Hugo Lloris and the Spurs defence. He looked exhausted and he failed to get a shot off as he was subbed off in the second half. After playing well away and scoring a brace at Southampton, Lukaku hasn't kicked on in the league, and will have to pick it up if Everton want to make this season a success.
5. Everton's depth will be tested again
The big loss for Everton was that Tom Cleverley had to be stretchered off after a tackle on him by Eric Dier. The midfielders right leg seemed to get trapped by Dier's and he left the game with his ankle all tapped up. He was replaced by Kevin Mirallas and Roberto Martinez has to face the injury bug that haunted him last year. Look for the likes of Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu to get more playing time as we see how bad Cleverley's injury is.