Everton dropped into the relegation zone after a goalless draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage, despite the 46 shots both teams took.
There were chances a plenty for both team, but perhaps the best came to Sean Dyche’s side in stoppage time but substitute Beto failed to hit the target.
The Toffees fall below Luton Town into the bottom three after the Hatters beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at home.
How the match unfolded
In the opening minutes Dominic Calvert-Lewin expertly held up the ball and laid it off to Jack Harrison, who flashed his shot wide.
Bernd Leno then palmed Ashley Young’s free-kick into the path of James Tarkowski, whose shot deflected off Issa Diop onto the bar before being cleared off the line by Antonee Robinson.
Just before the break Raul Jimenez had a golden opportunity to put Fulham ahead. Timothy Castagne’s long-range strike was cleared off the line into the path of the Mexican, who failed to score the rebound.
The end-to-end affair continued in the second half. Harrison’s cross was headed onto the crossbar by Calvert-Lewin, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid spurned a brilliant opportunity for Fulham when, instead of shooting, he opted to square the ball to Willian and saw his pass intercepted.
The breakthrough for both sides looked most likely to come from a set-piece. Castagne’s header rattled off the crossbar as the defender tried to redirect Cordova-Reid’s header towards goal, and in the 75th minute Jordan Pickford made a superb save, denying Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo from heading his side into the lead.
The Cottagers went close again when Robinson’s cutback in the box found Cordova-Reid, whose shot went agonisingly wide past the post.
But Everton very nearly grabbed the three points in stoppage time as Beto headed wide from close range, and a goalmouth scramble in Fulham’s six-yard box a few minutes later ended with goalkeeper Leno gratefully grabbing the ball.
Fulham climb to 12th place on 25 points.
See: Fulham report | Everton report
Match officials
Referee: Tom Bramall. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Mat Wilkes. Fourth official: Tim Robinson. VAR: David Coote. Assistant VAR: Marc Perry.
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