Everton held Aston Villa to their first goalless draw under Unai Emery.
Alex Moreno appeared to have handed the hosts a first-half opener with a drilled effort but saw his strike chalked off by VAR for offside in the build-up.
The result saw Sean Dyche’s side move another point away from the Premier League’s relegation zone despite 18th-placed Luton having a game in-hand.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Calvert-Lewin’s stuck in a rut
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s return to fitness is yet to be complimented by form.
Everton’s yearning for their leading striker to be back in regular contention can no longer mask his worryingly perennial shortcomings in front of goal.
Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa marked a 13th consecutive appearance in all competitions since Calvert-Lewin last found the target for Sean Dyche’s side.
Opportunities, or a lack thereof, offered the 26-year-old a case for mitigation yet he could not have asked for a finer opportunity than late first-half chance.
A surging run from deep saw him afforded him the freedom to bear down on Emiliano Martinez’s goal after managing to elude the visitors’ offside trap.
Even with all the time in the world to pick his spot, however, Calvert-Lewin offered the World Cup winner an easy out by offering up a tame effort.
Dyche maintains that the Blues’ No.9 will soon hit the goal trail as the stats are weighted towards him with each passing game where he draws a blank.
Only time will tell if his manager’s theory rings true but it is now becoming a genuine cause for concern that Calvert-Lewin is firmly stuck in a rut.
… but Blues make a welcome return
To say Everton missed Abdoulaye Doucoure is an absolute understatement.
Functioning without the midfielder’s guile had been a difficult balancing act for Dyche and amplified by a recent statistic which underlined his importance.
Since his arrival at Goodison Park, Doucoure’s absence had seen his side rack up only three Premier League victory from a combined run of 33 games.
A return to winning ways eluded the Mali international on his first outing since recovering from a hamstring injury but it certainly was not for a lack of trying.
Back in the starting line-up after that five-game hiatus, he thrived against a high-flying Villa; pressing them continuously and almost reaped the rewards.
At the end of normal time, Doucoure raced towards the Gwladys Street End and proceeded to slot past Martinez as a smash-and-grab win for the hosts.
The immediately raised offside flag punctured the 31-year-old’s joy before the ball rippled the net but could not dampen Everton’s return to familiar fashion.
Coleman leads the charge
In a landmark outing, Seamus Coleman was destined to leave his mark.
Everton’s evergreen captain has redefined standards during his 15 years at the club and that extended to a record 355th Premier League appearance.
Through the highs and lows, Coleman continues to embody the gutsy spirit often demanded from his teammates when wearing the royal blue shirt.
Nowhere was that fighting spirit more prevalent than when he charged into battle after James Tarkowski’s foul on Alex Moreno sparked fiery exchanges.
As both players squared up, Coleman was first among the cavalry of Everton players preparing to fight the centre-back’s corner in typically defiant fashion.
The Republic of Ireland stalwart has never shied away from such conflicts since arriving as a fresh-faced youngster for a bargain £60,000 in 2009.
It also had a galvanising impact on a Goodison crowd after home fans’ nerves had become frayed prior to that second-half flashpoint as Villa’s threat grew.
Coleman’s penchant for standing up for his teammates brought them back onside as chants of ‘Sixty grand’ reverberated around the Grand Old Lady.