Everton and Tottenham missed a chance to go second in the Premier League by drawing 0-0 in a match that failed to live up to expectations at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Spurs dominated the first half but failed to seriously test Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, who made comfortable saves from Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend.
The home side came back into it after the break, with striker Romelu Lukaku going close with a diving header, but Spurs kept a seventh clean sheet in 10 league matches.
With Chelsea and Liverpool both losing on Saturday, a win would have pushed either team up to second place behind Arsenal. Instead, Tottenham jumped two places to fourth and Everton stayed seventh.
There was concern for Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris late on when he was knocked unconscious after his head collided with the knee of Lukaku in the 77th minute. After a lengthy spell of treatment, it looked like Lloris was about to be substituted but the France captain chose to play on.
''Hugo still doesn't remember the incident with Lukaku so he lost consciousness there but he seemed assertive and determined to continue and showed great character and personality. We decided to keep him on based on that,'' Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said.
''It was a big knock but he looked composed and ready to continue on. The call always belongs to me. Brad (Friedel) was ready to come in but, the person Hugo is, there were enough signs for him to continue.''
