Liverpool Echo

Liverpool drop line-up hint ahead of facing Tottenham Hotspur as transfer confirmed  Liverpool Echo

A point gained, or two lost? That's the question that Everton's players were left with following Saturday's 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in north London (Sep 12), even as away supporters understandably refused to look a gift horse in the mouth.

After all, the last time the Toffees beat Spurs away in the league was back in the dark days of the autumn lockdown in 2020, when a grand total of zero fans were in attendance to witness Dominic Calvert-Lewin's header for the only goal of the game.

In fact, you have to go back to 2008 for the last time Everton beat Spurs away with fans in the ground. Last season, a generationally bad Spurs team somehow managed to do the double over the Blues, but David Moyes was in no mood for celebrations after the final whistle this time.

"Was I happy with the performance?" Moyes asked in his post-match press conference. "Not really, no. I wanted much more from the team, but I told them about coming here - we've not had a great record here.

"It was only a couple months ago we stopped getting to Europe, probably, by not winning here as well so I generally felt that we had to come in and show a bit more, we had to be resilient and tough. Tottenham were so good for 20 minutes.

"They put us under so much pressure and we found it difficult to escape from it. But look, we were worthy, we made a couple of chances, but we didn't play well enough today when we had the ball. We gave it away, turned it over more often than we have done recently."

Everton certainly came under the cosh at times, but arguably created the better chances against a Spurs team who are yet to score a league goal this season. Wasteful finishing may have cost the Blues, but there is still plenty to take away from a performance that showed yet more glimpses of what the future could look like for Moyes' resilient side.

New right side taking shape

If there is one element of Everton's performances this season that has been unerringly consistent, it has been their left-sided players - and Moyes' tendency to set the Blues up to get the ball down that side of the pitch as often as possible.

With Tyrique George's sparkling early-season form and Vitalii Mykolenko's increasing importance to Everton's build-up, it came as no surprise that we saw more of the same on Saturday.

Not only were the triumvirate of George, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry linking up again, but the Blues became even more left-sided when Jack Grealish entered the fray in the 66th minute, sending 48.3% of their attacks up that side of the pitch in the second half.

A more even 33.0% of Everton's attacks were directed up the right side, but it was here that we started to see more of what the Toffees will look like longer-term with summer exit Iliman Ndiaye no longer in the side.

Everton's new No. 2, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, may have already announced himself with a sensational last-minute equaliser against Manchester United, but Brennan Johnson is still waiting for his moment.

He passed up a golden opportunity when Dewsbury-Hall cut the ball back to him on the edge of the area in the 75th minute, but this was an improved performance from Johnson and hopefully a sign that things are beginning to move in the right direction after failing to catch the eye in his previous minutes to date.

No Everton player attempted more crosses (five) than the Welshman, who also created the most chances (two) for his new club on an afternoon when the Blues spent most of the game defending.

With Maitland-Niles pushing up in possession to provide the width as Johnson and George cut inside from the wings, the 25-year-old had plenty to do going back towards his own goal as well, with former Liverpool player Andy Robertson Spurs' main outlet on their left.

Johnson attempted two tackles and won both of them, which will be important as Everton do need to replace the defensive efforts of Ndiaye as well as the Senegalese's quality at the other end.

To this end, Harrison Armstrong played a similar role to the one he played the previous week against Manchester United, covering in the half-space to mixed effect, and mirroring Dewsbury-Hall's position on the opposite side of midfield.

In the first two games of the Premier League season, Dewsbury-Hall played much more as a sole No. 10, spending much of the games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth close to Barry - almost as a second striker in a 4-4-2/4-2-4.

Since Ndiaye's deadline-day move to Manchester City, though, and James Garner's full return to the fold, Moyes has leaned into the latter's defensive strengths to play Dewsbury-Hall and Armstrong more as advanced 8s, with license to support the wide attacking style the manager prefers.

This plays into Dewsbury-Hall's strengths, who naturally drifts to the left to cross with his stronger foot, and the hope will be that it suits Armstrong, too, as the chemistry between Everton's new-look right side develops.

Against Spurs, he found himself isolated again, making just 33 touches - little more than half of Dewsbury-Hall's 59. With most of the action on the opposite side of the pitch, though - Spurs constantly looking to get Savio on the ball in attack and Everton doing likewise with George - this can hardly be held against the 19-year-old.

Building that chemistry will be key to making Everton more unpredictable.

Blues left to rue missed chances

The Johnson miss may have looked appalling, but was not among Everton's two best chances according to expected goals (xG). Those chances both found the head of Barry in the six-yard box within a four-minute spell at the start of the second half (worth 0.24 xG each), and the Frenchman spurned them both.

It would be easy to chide Barry for what has undeniably been a wastefulness in front of goal in recent games, but that would do a disservice to the progress made by the 23-year-old.

Of course, Barry scored a hat-trick against Preston just three weeks ago, which should not be forgotten - and nor should his growing importance to Everton's attack as a whole.

One moment in the second half stood out, when Barry held up the ball beautifully before releasing a perfectly-timed pass to George running into space, and despite the Blues' low block seeing him isolated out of possession, he had no trouble linking up with his teammates when on the ball.

Barry was one of six Everton players to create a chance in this game - a promising sign in itself - and was as competitive as ever. Though he won just 44% of his aerial duels, he contested 13 duels in total, winning two of four on the ground.

And that's all without mentioning the increasingly threatening positions where Barry is receiving the ball. Behind only Savio (11) for touches in the opposition box (six), Barry accumulated 0.67 xG and is only narrowly behind Erling Haaland in second for xG per 90 (among players to have started a Premier League game) ahead of Monday night's game between Leeds and Newcastle.

Yes, goals are the numbers that matter, but there is a reason few strikers match the Norwegian in xG accumulated. Strikers will tell you that the hardest part is getting in the position to score, and Barry is still young enough for his finishing to improve significantly.

Haaland, of course, plays in a high-possession side that has been fine-tuned to manufacture opportunities for him to score. That Barry's situation is entirely different, yet he can be mentioned alongside Haaland in this respect, should be a source of excitement for Toffees.

A big part of how Barry has managed to get so many opportunities to score this season is how effectively Everton have got the ball to their main playmaker, Dewsbury-Hall.

Against Spurs, Dewsbury-Hall was the top pass receiver for four different Everton players: George (six passes), Garner (10), Jarrad Branthwaite (eight) and Barry (three).

Branthwaite's efficiency getting the ball quickly out from the back in this game was impressive and got Everton on the front foot quickly, while a similar direct line between Mykolenko and George (the latter of whom received the most passes - eight - from Mykolenko on the day) is proving equally effective to get the 20-year-old on the ball and linking up with Dewsbury-Hall.

Indeed, no player received the ball from Dewsbury-Hall more than George, the No. 8 finding the No. 19 nine times and constantly looking to release him down the left flank.

The Blues not only had the greater xG on Saturday (1.11 to Spurs' 0.69), but also managed double the number of shots in the second half as they did in the first (from four to eight), all of them inside the box.

Though Moyes bemoaned Everton giving the ball away more often than he would have liked, the Toffees' threat had actually become greater even as they saw less of the ball in the second half (36.4% possession, after seeing 38.7% in the first half).

As Spurs pushed more and more for a goal, Everton only became more dangerous on the break. But that also meant that the Blues' defensive work had to be excellent - and it was.

Garner and Mykolenko immense

It was last year's Player of the Season, Garner, who managed the first shot on target for either side from his free-kick in the 46th minute, and it was Garner who helped knit together defence and attack peerlessly for Everton.

Former Spurs manager Thomas Frank, speaking on Saturday's Match of the Day, spotlighted the immense workload Garner got through - finishing the game top among Everton players for touches (71), duels won (10) and possession won (eight), and second for tackles (six).

Ex-Blues defender Ashley Williams, guesting alongside Frank, put it perfectly: "If you're a centre-back behind him, he's the type of midfielder you want."

Garner also made the second-most passes (51) behind James Tarkowski (57), whose use of the ball was also highly commendable, and covered central areas impeccably.

Despite strong performances from Armstrong and Hayden Hackney in deeper midfield roles already this season, Garner's position in this team is in no doubt whatsoever - and the way he played through the pain to make an early return from a hernia injury at the start of the season underlines the warrior spirit that makes him perfect for Moyes' lynchpin role.

Of course, there was one player in Blue who made more tackles than Garner: the tireless Mykolenko. The Ukrainian international, incredibly, attempted seven tackles and succeeded with all seven of them - despite having his work cut out against a rampaging Savio.

The footballer formerly known as Savinho was Spurs' most advanced attacker on the day, and - as touched on before - the Brazilian made 11 touches in Everton's box, the most of any player on the pitch by far.

One of the weirdest aspects of this inescapably weird match was that, despite directly competing against each other, both Savio and Mykolenko had excellent games.

Only Robertson matched Savio for crosses (seven), with the 22-year-old also creating a match-high four chances for his team and attempting a whopping eight dribbles.

Accusations of a lack of end product have long plagued the former Manchester City player, but it was his teammates against Everton who should have been cursing their wastefulness.

Mykolenko was dribbled past on three occasions (Fotmob), but recovered well time after time and had the edge in his duels with Savio, winning a greater share of his 14 duels (57.1%) than the winger he was up against (42.9%).

Mykolenko and Garner, central to the Blues' work in build-up and in defence, were absolutely instrumental both on and off the ball.

A good point... for now

As frustrating as it may have been not to strike a killing blow against a Spurs side still struggling to escape their own death spiral, this has to go down as a good point for the Toffees.

Everton defenders will face few greater challenges than Mykolenko did up against Savio on Saturday, and to emerge from a difficult away game with a draw and a clean sheet is a testament to the defiance this team are showing so far this season.

The Blues are unbeaten so far, but that record will look less impressive should they fail to dispatch Ipswich at Hill Dickinson this coming weekend. Wins in the two coming home games against Wolves in the League Cup and then the Tractor Boys in the Premier League, though, and this will be looked back on as a start to the season Everton can be proud of.

With a three-week international break on the horizon, leaving things on a high is essential.

Richarlison decision confirmed for Liverpool clash as Tottenham stance clear after Everton drama  Liverpool Echo

Andoni Iraola press conference - Liverpool team changes, injury news, Tottenham Carabao Cup tie  Liverpool Echo

Modern-day Liverpool legend Andy Robertson returns to the club for the first time on Tuesday when Tottenham Hotspur arrive at Anfield for a Carabao Cup tie

Andy Robertson makes his way back to Liverpool for the first time since his emotional summer exit when Tottenham Hotspur visit Anfield on Tuesday for a Carabao Cup third-round tie (8pm kick-off).

But the modern-day Reds legend is being tipped for a permanent return to the club where he won eight major honours across nine years - as a future manager.

Robertson is a long way off retiring and his decision to leave Liverpool was motivated by a desire to play more football after losing his place to Milos Kerkez in his final campaign on Merseyside.

The Scotland captain has started three of struggling Tottenham's four Premier League matches so far this season and has been one of their better performers.

And his fellow Scot Alan Hutton reckons Robertson could still do a job for Liverpool, who he is tipping to move into management when his decorated playing career comes to an end.

"Could we see Andy Robertson return to Liverpool as manager some day or take the Scotland or Celtic jobs? I think he can go on and do that if he wants to," the former Spurs and Aston Villa right-back said.

"He has always been a student of the game for as long as I’ve known him. I was just doing what I needed to do before leaving for the day whereas he would be there, in training, asking questions constantly.

"He wanted to know why we were doing this a certain way, what were the reasons for setting up the team how we were for the next game, why do we want to do that.

"And anybody that’s like that, inquisitive about the game to that level, with their team and with themselves, is on that path to becoming a manager eventually.

"He’s got all the attributes to take on a job like that after he finishes and builds up his coaching career."

Robertson, who played alongside Hutton for Scotland, announced in April his intention to say goodbye to the Reds at the end of the 2025-26 season.

He had previously came close to joining Tottenham in January while in the summer of 2025 he held talks over a move to Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool have not replaced Robertson, instead turning to the returning Kostas Tsimikas, who struggled in Saturday's 0-0 home draw with Fulham, to act as cover and competition for first-choice Kerkez, who himself has yet to replicate the high level of performances he produced for Bournemouth.

And Hutton, speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Premier League odds, said: "I am very surprised Liverpool allowed Andy Robertson to leave for nothing. I believe he’s still at an age where he’s got so much more to give.

"Experience counts for a lot, even in that Liverpool team. It doesn’t matter how much money they’ve spent. You still need players who understand what it’s like to win, and what it takes to play for a club like Liverpool, with the level of expectations from the manager, the crowd, the community, and everything that goes along with it.

"To allow the situation to develop where he can leave on a free was a strange decision by Liverpool.

"Andy Robertson coming in is a massive opportunity for Spurs, and I think he'll help because they have lost that sort of leader for the last couple of years within that dressing room.

"I’ve played with Andy. I know what he’s like. He demands the best from everyone around him every day, and I’m sure he’ll be doing exactly that at Tottenham."

Spurs will arrive at Anfield after a 0-0 draw at home to Everton on Saturday that made it four Premier League games without a win and without a goal.

And head coach Roberto De Zerbi has hinted he could make 11 changes for the clash with the Reds, which would mean Robertson starting on the bench.

The Tottenham boss said: "Now we play Tuesday in Liverpool and we play with all other players but it will be a very important match for us.

"We can improve playing in the games, we can improve during the week.

"A mental block, because four games, no wins, any goals scored. It is tough also for the players because they are human and they are very good guys, and I asked them to follow me because if last season I was positive, I can't understand why I cannot be the same this season."

Liverpool entertain Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup third round at Anfield on Tuesday evening

Tottenham Hotspur boss Roberto De Zerbi has hinted Liverpool could be facing completely new-look opposition in their Carabao Cup clash this week - with Anfield bogeyman Richarlison set to come in from the cold.

The Reds entertain Tottenham on Tuesday in the third round of the competition having extended their unbeaten start to life under new head coach Andoni Iraola with a dismal goalless Premier League draw at home to Fulham on Saturday.

Tottenham are still to win in the top-flight, with their only goals this season coming in the 5-1 thumping of Charlton Athletic that set up the tie at Liverpool.

They were held to a second successive goalless draw when they faced Everton at home at the weekend, after which De Zerbi indicated he would start with a different XI for the trip to Anfield.

OPINION

"Now we play Tuesday in Liverpool and we play with all other players but it will be a very important match for us," he said.

"We can improve playing in the games, we can improve during the week.

"A mental block, because four games, no wins, any goals scored. It is tough also for the players because they are human and they are very good guys, and I asked them to follow me because if last season I was positive, I can't understand why I cannot be the same this season."

Richarlison saw moves to Everton and Vasco da Gama fail to materialise earlier this month and was then left out of Tottenham's Premier League squad.

However, the Brazilian is eligible for the League Cup and could come into consideration having scored five times in nine visits to Anfield, most recently earning the Londoners a 1-1 draw at Liverpool in March.

Tottenham, who spent more than £300million on new players during the summer transfer window, were able to name a strong bench against Everton with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, defenders Ben Davies, Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo, midfielders Conor Gallagher, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison and forwards Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus.

They were, though, without injured sextet Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Mykhailo Mudryk and Wilson Odobert.

Roberto De Zerbi says Everton helped inflict Tottenham mental block - 'There is a word in Italian'  Liverpool Echo

National media react as Everton bring boos back to Tottenham - 'They were the better side'  Liverpool Echo

Everton man unfairly judged for who he's not steps up as David Moyes gets it right  Liverpool Echo

And that's our coverage done for the night.

Four unbeaten in the Premier League, five unbeaten in all competitions... if the Blues can follow this up with a Carabao Cup win midweek at home to Wolves and then beat Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Premier League next Saturday, then it will have been a very good start to the season.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, just yet.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, another positive one to be an Evertonian.

Goodnight.

As the cries from the home supporters turned from hope to desperation, Jarrad Branthwaite leapt highest in a crowded box and headed clear before being clattered. He knew the blow to his body was coming before his feet left the ground. But still he rose from the turf.

It was a fitting moment to conclude the game. The centre-back ended the match how he started it, putting his body on the line. Huge blocks from Matheus Fernandes and Omar Marmoush were pivotal as Everton clung on as Tottenham Hotspur started with intensity, overloading the visiting full-backs and overwhelming their midfield.

Marmoush, Fernandes, Dominic Solanke and Savio all wreaked early havoc. But they were unable to make their dominance count and score a first Premier League goal of the season for their team. The main reason for that was Branthwaite.

READ JOE THOMAS' BIG-MATCH VERDICT IN FULL HERE

The Ukraine international was excellent tonight, so much so he was named Sky Sports' man of the match.

And here's what he had to say to the broadcaster post-game: "This group is so good. A few weeks ago, I said in interview, this is probably the best group ever I've seen in Everton since I came, so I'm happy to play with them and also I'm happy to see Jarrad (Branthwaite) back this season and I enjoy to play with him."

Jordan Pickford 7

Reedemed himself with a smart save down to his left to keep out Lucas Bergvall’s shot after he’d gifted the ball to Spurs with a misplaced pass from his weaker right foot moments earlier, he needed to be alert at all times without his goal necessarily being peppered and was also called into action in the first half to make a save with his leg to deny former Liverpool player Andy Robertson’s shot from an angle.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles 7

Kept busy on his first start, the former Arsenal man’s eyes will have lit up when the ball fell to him outside the opponents’ penalty area again for a shot, but this time it fell to his weaker left foot and he fired wide. He looked comfortable on the ball but felt the pace after making a return to the Premier League after three years in France.

Vitalii Mykolenko 8

An accomplished display from the Ukraine international, he put an early tackle in on Savio and has defended strongly in the face of regular waves of attacks while also having a headed effort which caused something of a panic for Kinsky.

James Tarkowski 7

Strong leadership was required as Spurs piled on the pressure early on, but his tough resilience enabled Everton to weather the storm as be dealt with everything that came his way.

READ CHRIS BEESLEY'S PLAYER RATINGS IN FULL HERE

Bergvall has introduced some energy to the Spurs midfield but he is unable to escape the attention of Armstrong, who forces him backwards. Good play from the teenager.

Kudus now cuts a run inside Mykolenko but threads a through ball to a non-existent runner and that is a goal-kick. Now Grealish buys a foul on halfway and that is valuable for the visitors.

Ah, Branthwaite plays a forward pass to KDH but the two aren't on the same wavelength, that is a wasted chance for, at the very least, a calm 20 seconds or a testing ball into the box. Everton have to be smarter.

Kudus is also starting to grow into the game. There are groans when Gray cuts out a ball to the winger but a clever flick finds him now and Branthwaite acrobatically hooks a cross away from the near post. Now Hackney hammers clear another cross.

It is times like these, when Everton neeed Barry to occupy defenders, that having so few options up top will hurt them.

Some respite though as Bergvall catches Garner on halway.

The free kick is sent across the pitch to O'Brien but he is offside - that is poor.

Garner is now penalised for a foul on Savio 15 yards inside the Everton half. Ref Darren England took his time but then blew, and then got the yellow card out.

Gray climbs above Mykolenko to meet a cross but Mykolenko does enough to stop him from being able to do anything over than head it well over.

Gray is now replaced by Adarabioyo, the signing from Chelsea making is debut for the hosts.

Everton come down the right now and twice Barry puts up a good fight with van Hecke as they battle for crosses. He is making the centre back work for everything, which is good to see.

Everton get a few more crosses in from the right and the last one, when cleared, is fired at (I think) van de Ven. The away end want a penalty but none is forthcoming.

Everton come again and it is down the left. A Grealish ball is cut out but ends up back with a green shirt and the home fans moan in frustration.

Grealish is seeking out the ball now, Everton are trying to go through him and that is a massive chance. Dewsbury-Hall picks out the run of Johnson, central, in space and he shoots over. He should have scored.

Johnson comes off to applause from the home end and AML is off as well. O'Brien to right-back, Dibling on the right.

Right, Joe with you to the end as Spurs send another sloppy pass out of play - this half has been littered with them.

I can't tell you which way this going to go. Unlike the first half, Everton are creating chances though and KDH will think he should have done better just then.

This game is getting a little frenetic - the home fans are desperate for their team to get forward and making plenty of noise, but some of it is in desperation as much as expectation.

Jordan Pickford 7

Has needed to be alert at all times without his goal necessarily being peppered, he was called into action to make a save with his leg to deny former Liverpool player Andy Robertson’s shot from an angle.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles 6

Being kept busy on his first start, the former Arsenal man’s eyes will have lit up when the ball fell to him outside the opponents’ penalty area again for a shot but this time it fell to his weaker left foot and he fired wide.

Vitalii Mykolenko 7

Put an early tackle in on Savio and has defended strongly so far in the face of regular waves of attacks and also had a headed effort which caused something of a panic for Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky.

James Tarkowski 7

Strong leadership was required as Spurs piled on the pressure early on, but his tough resilience has enabled Everton to weather the storm somewhat.

Jarrad Branthwaite 7

Made a crucial block to keep out a Sandro Tonali shot, he’s having to read the game well and offers Everton an opportunity to step out of defence when they do have the ball.

James Garner 6

Tested Kinsky with a stoppage time free-kick, this has been one of the sternest tests of his match sharpness to date since returning from a hernia operation given Spurs coming out of the traps quickly, he’s been having to get some last-ditch challenges in but could do with holding onto the ball a bit better.

Harrison Armstrong 6

Penalised early on for a challenge on Omar Marmoush that looked like the kind of call more experienced players might get away with, Archie Gray then caught him with a full-blooded tackle but he’s learning fast at this level showing maturity beyond his years.

Brennan Johnson 5

Given a pre-match round of applause ahead of facing the side for whom his goal won the 2025 Europa League final, he’s struggled to get into the game against his former side with few touches.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 6

Desperately craving opportunities to drive the ball forwards, he’s been a tenacious competitor without making much of a mark.

Tyrique George 6

Blowing hot and cold, there have been moments in which his twinkling toes have been a threat but things have not always come off for him.

Thierno Barry 5

Starved of service, the only recognised striker in the Everton squad has cut a frustrated looking figure at times, labouring to try and get the ball to stick.

Oooo a chance now as Dewsbury-Hall is pulled back by Fernandes 30 yards out from the Spurs goal and in shooting range for Garner.

Two minutes added on time by the way.

I think that foul was karma for Fernandes' flop a moment ago. Can Everton take advantage?

Nearly! A good effort from Garner has Kinsky scrambling to turn the ball around the post.