West Ham were unable to make their second-half superiority count as underfire manager Julen Lopetegui watched his side held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at the London Stadium.
Pressure will remain on the Hammers boss heading into the third international break of the season after his side missed several good opportunities following the interval to secure a third straight home Premier League win.
The best chance fell to Crysencio Summerville, whose shot hit the inside of the post after being released by Lucas Paqueta. Substitute Danny Ings saw his shot kept out by Jordan Pickford, who was then alert to make an even better save to deny the same player in stoppage time after a big deflection off James Tarkowski.
Everton’s best efforts came in the first half, with Summerville tracking back to produce a vital last-ditch tackle on Abdoulaye Doucoure to deny what looked a certain goal, while Lukasz Fabianski later made a fine save to tip over Jesper Lindstrom’s header from Orel Mangala’s cross.
The result means Everton sit 16th on 10 points while West Ham are two places above their opponents, and two points better off.
Little comfort for Lopetegui after stalemate
West Ham have been looking to lean on home comforts having won each of their previous two Premier League games at the London Stadium. But supporters jeered at the final whistle.
Lopetegui remains under pressure after last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest had left them floundering in the bottom half of the table, and they are still just six points above the Premier League relegation zone after Wolves’ win over Southampton.
It is understood there remains no appetite among the West Ham hierarchy to make a managerial change but another performance that failed to ignite until the closing stages will not change the mood music surrounding the club.
It was the visitors who had the better of the opening half as Summerville produced a vital block to deny the returning Doucoure the opener after eight minutes.
Just three wins from the opening 10 league matches – including an extremely fortunate victory at home to Manchester United a fortnight ago – has raised serious questions about West Ham’s decision to replace David Moyes with Lopetegui, but there were few signs of a rousing response until the closing stages of the first half.
It was not until the 44th minute that Pickford was forced into action as he kept out Jarrod Bowen’s near-post effort, with Michail Antonio also having a shot blocked by the England No 1 moments later from an acute angle. Another Bowen shot deflected wide before a rasping drive from Guido Rodriguez was palmed away by Pickford.
Everton tired as the momentum shifted West Ham’s way, but Pickford rose to the occasion to ensure his side did not come away with nothing. After watching Summerville’s effort thud against the frame of the goal, he batted away Ings’ first effort before reacting superbly at the death to tip over a deflected shot from the former Liverpool forward to preserve a point.
Dyche: We lacked ‘the devil’ in final third
Everton boss Sean Dyche:
“It’s a good point and good clean sheet. It was a tough decision to take Keano (Michael Keane) out, but that back five kept a lot of clean sheets last season and they did so again today.
“We couldn’t find the edge and that bit of devil that is the difference, but there was a solid feel. In the end, we come away slightly wondering if that was one we could’ve won, but equally Jordan made a fine save to make sure we got a point.”
A joyless encounter desperately lacking in quality
Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds at the London Stadium:
This gutsy goalless draw was not the sort you wanted to lose.
Seven days ago at St Mary’s, Everton managed to be on the receiving end of a late sucker-punch, and when Ings came on as a second-half substitute, many of those who had made the same journey south to the capital will have feared a similar outcome.
Only Pickford’s brilliance ensured that would not be the case, but in truth neither side deserved a win from a joyless encounter desperately lacking in quality.
Summerville’s defending was actually the highlight of a dreadful opening 45 minutes, the winger chasing back 70 yards to block Doucoure’s shot. His moment at the other end came from a rare flicker of guile as Paqueta dissected Everton’s defence.
It is clear to see what Dyche means about finding the devil. Full-back Vitalii Mykolenko shanked an effort wide on his wrong foot. It was a moment characteristic of the confidence levels of two teams navigating the Premier League’s bottom half but a game that certainly will not live long in the memory.
Hammers finally keep it clean – Opta stats
- West Ham kept their first home clean sheet in 15 Premier League games, since a goalless draw against Brighton in their first match of 2024.
- No team has failed to score in more different Premier League matches than Everton this season (5), with the Toffees also having a joint league-high two goalless draws so far this term.
- Having faced just 17 shots combined in their Premier League games against Brentford (8) and Ipswich (9), West Ham have now faced at least 18 shots in each of their last four league matches.
- West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen attempted nine dribbles in this game (3 successful), his joint most in a single Premier League match (also 9 vs Aston Villa in March 2023).
