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Antonio Conte’s first Premier League game in charge of Tottenham ended in a hard-fought goalless draw against Everton at Goodison Park.

Tottenham have gone more than three hours in the league without a shot on target but substitute Giovani lo Celso almost got Conte off to a winning start in the league when he curled an effort against the post with two minutes to go.

This was also a much improved Everton from recent weeks, although Rafael Benitez’s side, without a win in the top flight since September, had Mason Holgate dismissed late on for a high follow-through on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The hosts thought they had been handed a golden chance to break the deadlock when Chris Kavanagh awarded a penalty in the second half, only for the referee to overturn the decision after consulting the pitch-side monitor.

Richarlison appeared to beat Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to the ball and was brought down in the area but Kavanagh deemed that the Frenchman had got a fingertip to the ball.

Spurs enjoyed more possession and there were tentative signs of the traits imposed by Conte on his successful sides of the past, with the visitors showing more energy and intensity than previously this season.

But for all their possession it was Everton who looked more dangerous in a game of few chances, with Michael Keane heading over the bar and Demarai Gray turning an effort wide with 10 minutes to go.

It was perhaps a sign of Conte’s influence that one of Spurs’ best chances fell to wing-back Sergio Reguilon, who scooped over unmarked at the back post from Harry Kane’s cross before the break.

The draw keeps the teams a point apart, with Spurs ninth and Everton 11th – though both are within one win of the Europa League places.

Spurs up for the fight but creating little

Conte would have loved to have bottled the buzz from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when his reign began on Thursday and taken it to Goodison Park for his first outing in the Premier League in more than three years.

Following that chaotic Europa Conference League win over Vitesse, the Italian warned that he knew this job would take patience and hard work, though there were already signs of the aggression and willingness to put bodies on the line that Conte will demand of his players.

The 52-year-old has won five league titles during his tenures at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan and showed all the passion that makes him a serial winner as he patrolled the technical area with the collar of his suit raised, barking orders at those players closest to him.

A desire for his side to build possession from the back initially gave Conte some nervy moments, with the visitors giving it away in dangerous areas on several occasions, but Spurs did look far more willing to play through midfield than previously in the Premier League this season.

There was also an early indication of the licence handed to both wing-backs to get forward, with Reguilon whipping a deep cross to the back post that was nodded over by Emerson Royal before Reguilon himself failed to find the target from Kane’s cross.

But that was the best of their efforts until Lo Celso’s late strike rattled the post, and Conte will be concerned a front three of Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura failed to really test the Toffees’ backline.

Spurs have now gone two and a half league games without managing a shot on target, though this draw did at least end their run of two successive defeats.

A clean sheet and the fact his players were up for the fight will be a satisfying base for Conte to build on, but Tottenham can expect to have attacking patterns drilled into them on the training ground by their new boss over the coming weeks.

Encouraging signs for Benitez

While Spurs acted quickly upon an underwhelming run of results in sacking Nuno Espirito Santo, the pressure was also growing on Benitez to address a worrying recent slide with Everton.

The Toffees are on a run of five games without a win since a 2-0 victory over Norwich at the end of September but Benitez will be pleased with the resilience and solidity shown in what was a feisty encounter on Sunday.

Everton’s recent run also comes with the caveat that Benitez has been without forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin for most of the season and influential midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure for the past three games.

When the returning left-back Lucas Digne flashed a ball across the six-yard box in the first half, the absence of Calvert-Lewin was glaring.

And while the hosts pressed late on, before substitute Holgate was dismissed, the chances were few and far between against a side looking reorganised defensively under their new boss.

Player of the match

Son Heung-MinSon Heung-Min

Everton

1. Squad number14Player nameTownsend

2. Squad number11Player nameGray

3. Squad number1Player namePickford

4. Squad number23Player nameColeman

5. Squad number12Player nameDigne

6. Squad number7Player nameRicharlison

7. Squad number24Player nameGordon

8. Squad number22Player nameGodfrey

9. Squad number26Player nameDavies

10. Squad number6Player nameAllan

11. Squad number8Player nameDelph

12. Squad number5Player nameKeane

13. Squad number25Player nameGbamin

14. Squad number4Player nameHolgate

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