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Maddison fluffs lines in front of Southgate
James Maddison was handed the perfect opportunity to convince Gareth Southgate to hand him a late call up for the World Cup after the England manager chose to attend Leicester's draw with Crystal Palace.
Unfortunately for Maddison, Southgate is likely to have left the King Power Stadium feeling he has made the correct decision to leave the midfielder out of his squad, where he has been ever since earning his only cap three years ago.
Maddison played as if he felt it was his final chance to impress Southgate and topped all his team-mates when it came to shots, crosses and duels won.
But unfortunately for the 25-year-old he also led all Leicester players in possession losses, with many of his ambitious passes and through balls failing to come off as he sought to give the Foxes a spark in front of Southgate.
Maddison also saw Leicester's best chance of the game fall his way when Harvey Barnes pulled the ball back to him when he was unmarked in the Palace area but, perhaps aware of the eyes watching him from the executive seats, he snatched at his chance, blazing it over the bar.
The game stuttered towards a goalless finish but not before Maddison blotted his copybook further when he was booked for diving in the final minute in a vain attempt to win a penalty.
As well as the embarrassment of being found guilty of simulation, Maddison's booking will also see him miss Leicester's next game against Leeds with suspension, further robbing him of an opportunity to put on a show before England's squad is named.
Joe Shread
Kane feats are underappreciated
Harry Kane marked his 400th appearance for Spurs with a goal. Of course he did. It's 258 in total for the 29-year-old now, including nine in 10 games in the Premier League this season.
Throw in his first-half penalty in Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt and it's 10 in all competitions. He has reached double figures in just 14 games. It took him 23 to reach that milestone last term.
Everything points to Kane being in the form of his life and yet it is hardly being talked about, with Erling Haaland's extraordinary start to life at Manchester City, for whom he has already hit the 20-mark, ensuring he is dominating the discourse around strikers.
It would be foolish, though, however freakish a talent Haaland might be, to take what Kane is doing for granted, or underestimate just how well he is performing for Antonio Conte's side right now.
Against Everton, he was at times unplayable, attempting seven shots, four of which hit the target, having 13 touches in the opposition box - more than the entire Everton team combined - and also creating three scoring opportunities for his team-mates.
His second-half performance was just the latest reminder that he does it all for this Spurs side, scoring and creating; holding the ball up - as he did for their second goal - and laying it off; leading from the front and even helping to protect his own box.
There was no mention of him in Conte's post-match press conference, the limelight instead taken by players who do not do it so consistently it has become routine. But Kane, even by his standards, looks to be at the very peak of his powers.
Nick Wright
Poor finishing stalling Everton's progress
The difference between Everton's last two trips to Tottenham is night and day. They were thumped 5-0 back in March but on Saturday they left the Spurs stadium kicking themselves for not landing a draw or even win. Ultimately, though, as Frank Lampard pointed out afterwards, they got the same number of points for both performances.
Progress is being made, that is evident. But Everton's finishing is stalling the rate of that improvement. Against Spurs, Demarai Gray and Amadou Onana missed golden one-on-one opportunities, blazing over when they were clean through.
Had they scored, it would have looked like the perfect away day performance, with Everton - who boasted the joint-best defensive record in the league before kick-off - limiting Spurs to just a handful of half-chances in the opening 45 minutes. It would have set up a very different second half.
But only three teams have scored fewer than Everton's total of eight from their first 10 games. They are bottom three for big chance conversion rates and fifth-worst in the league for shot conversion.
Experience? Confidence in front of goal? Lampard offered up a couple of possible explanations for the misses on Saturday. But it is a problem he needs to solve if he is to continue to lift this Everton team up the table.
Peter Smith
Wolves win masks underlying problems
Managerless Wolves moved out of the relegation zone as a result of Saturday's slender victory over fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest. Their troublesome plight, however, will only be temporarily apprehended by the narrow success - which was tinged with an element of good fortune.
At surface value, three points are of course welcome. But they hide a myriad of problems. At no point can Wolves claim to have been convincing winners. Had it not have been for some Jose Sa heroics to thwart Brennan Johnson's late penalty, a 1-1 scoreline would have been the likely outcome.
It's the second time the Portuguese goalkeeper has salvaged points via a penalty stop this season - saving Aleksandar Mitrovic's effort back in August. Wolves are living precariously. It is telling that Nuno Espirito Santo has been in talks over a remarkable return to the club 17 months after his departure - they have been in decline ever since.
They may have dominated possession and territory against Forest but a lack of goals from open play is concerning. Entries are abundant, end product less so. They ended a run of 370 minutes without a Premier League goal following Ruben Neves' second-half spot-kick, which VAR awarded. In fact, VAR reviews were responsible for most of the game's suspense and entertainment value. The football, conversely, was less forthcoming. A slog wrapped up in a rare win.
Laura Hunter
Time and fixtures making Cooper's "process" tougher
"It's about continuing the process of trying to find the best team, find the best way of playing," Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper said after their 1-0 loss at Wolves.
"We know we're going through that phase of trying to become who we want to be, so we have to continue with that."
But, with nearly a third of the Premier League season gone, time is now becoming Cooper's enemy in his "process".
Their 10th league game of the season saw them lose for the seventh time to leave them bottom, four points adrift from safety, with their only win coming in mid-August.
The defeat at Molineux was even more alarming considering it was against fellow strugglers Wolves, who won for just the second time this season.
It is yet another game Forest have lost when they needed to take points, having suffered home defeats against fellow promoted sides Bournemouth and Fulham as well as a heavy loss at relegation-threatened Leicester.
Now the fixture list takes a turn for the worse for Cooper's side as they face Brighton away on Tuesday followed by Liverpool at home on Saturday and then Arsenal away - it is hard to see them taking a point from any of those games.
The stats are damning too about Forest's performances: they have lost all five games this season when conceding first, while they have conceded 23 goals in their first 10 top-flight games in a season for only the second time in their history.
It is no wonder that following the defeat at Wolves Forest have become heavy favourites with the bookmakers to be relegated this season.
Declan Olley
Vieira in the dock after Palace fire blank?
Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard, Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze started for Crystal Palace at Leicester. Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench.
Yet, despite fielding an attacking line-up many in the Premier League would covet, the Eagles registered just one shot on target - and never looked like scoring - in a forgettable stalemate at the King Power Stadium.
"We didn't create anything - nothing! We were not aggressive enough. We didn't penetrate enough. We lacked quality," was manager Patrick Vieira's assessment after a performance which put as much spotlight on him as it did his toothless attack.
This was Vieira's sixth goalless draw in the Premier League since taking charge at Selhurst Park - since the start of last season, no side has played out more stalemates than Palace - and the 24th time the Eagles had failed to hit double figures for shots in a game during the same period.
Vieira was keen to recognise a resolute defensive display which ultimately earned Palace a point, but with unwanted league highs in the worst possible metrics, is that enough to spare him from scrutiny?
Jack Wilkinson
O'Neil has passed his Bournemouth audition
What more can Gary O'Neil do to get the Bournemouth job on a permanent basis?
Picking up this role on the back of a 9-0 drubbing by Liverpool might well have been one of the hardest in football. Bournemouth, after all, were supposed to be "underequipped for this level" in the words of former boss Scott Parker.
- Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth - Report & highlights
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
- Watch Premier League highlights
Yet since then they have not lost - unbeaten in six matches - and are ninth, above Liverpool. Who would have predicted that a month ago?
O'Neil has grown into the role. On the touchline at Craven Cottage he was a bundle of energy. Pointing, shouting, solving problems and encouraging his team.
Bournemouth put together two wonderful moves for their first-half goals and despite coming under heavy pressure in the second half, only a debatable penalty decision separated them from a third win under O'Neil.
If the 39-year-old is not chosen to lead Bournemouth's survival mission then he has given himself the best possible advert for his career in the dugout.
David Richardson
Toney and Frank mark milestones in style
Twenty-one shots to seven told you a familiar story about Brighton, who again head a superior Expected Goals compared to Brentford (1.79 to 1.56) but a lack of cutting edge continues to punctuate these early days under Roberto Di Zerbi.
The Italian named an unchanged side for the third successive game at the start of his Seagulls tenure, but there was enough here to suggest that will now change.
- Brentford 2-0 Brighton - Match report and highlights
- Premier League table | Fixtures | Results
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
Brighton had the incentive of moving back into the top four with a victory in west London, but they headed into night ruing another profligate performance.
Brentford just love it under the lights on a Friday. They are unbeaten in their last 10 league games played on this day, winning eight and drawing two, with the Bees winning each of the last six of these games.
Thomas Frank, in his 200th game in charge of Brentford, opened his programme notes by paying tribute to Enock Mwepu. It was a classy touch before a contest high on quality, 24 years on from this being an encounter played out in the English fourth tier.
Frank said his players let their supporters down during last Saturday's 5-1 defeat at Newcastle - but this was the perfect response as Freed From Desire played out at a bouncing Gtech Community Stadium and the players took a lap of honour at the final whistle.
After three games without a win, there was relief on Frank's face but there is an unshakable spirit and a connection here that will not be dampened by the occasional difficult moment. One win in six after demolishing Manchester United, but with centurion Ivan Toney still deadeye in front of goal, there was always too much ability for Brentford to be in the doldrums for too long.
Ben Grounds
De Zerbi quickly discovering Brighton's flaws
Just three matches into his tenure as Brighton head coach, Roberto De Zerbi has discovered the issue that has plagued the Seagulls for years.
Speaking to Sky Sports after seeing his side go down 2-0 at Brentford despite having more than 70 per cent of possession and recording three times as many shots as their opponents, the Italian declared: "We shoot a lot but don't score."
Brighton supporters may point out that they have been saying the same thing for the past four seasons, given the side has underperformed compared to its expected goals (xG) total in each of the past three seasons.
Graham Potter appeared to have finally resolved those issues at the start of this season, with Brighton just about outperforming their xG during the six matches he oversaw before moving to Chelsea in September.
Since then, Brighton have reverted to type. The south coast side may have notched three at Anfield in De Zerbi's thrilling first game in charge but they have failed to find the net since and again find their goals tally trailing their xG total.
Fingers will inevitably be pointed at Danny Welbeck, who has led the line in every match this season and has an xG total of 2.2 but is yet to find the net.
But Solly March must also share some of the blame. The wing-back has an xG total of 2.21 after also featuring in every game but he too has failed to score this season. In fact, the Brighton academy product has not scored in the Premier League since November 2020, despite attempting more than 50 shots in that time.
De Zerbi has no need to panic, given Brighton are seventh - largely thanks to their results under Potter - and have a home game against 19th-placed Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, but the new boss may have to be patient when it comes to fixing a problem that took his predecessor three years to solve.
Joe Shread