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Andre Villas-Boas is still looking for his first victory as Tottenham boss after a late Robert Snodgrass equaliser earned Norwich a deserved 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham's new signing Moussa Dembele had come off the bench to put Tottenham in front in the 68th minute with a fine goal but it was a rare bright spark in an otherwise limp performance from the hosts.

Indeed, Spurs needed Brad Friedel to be in top form between the sticks as he made a number of fine saves as Norwich boss Chris Hughton, who spent 28 years at Tottenham as a player and a coach, was rewarded with a gutsy display from his troops.

Snodgrass levelled in the 85th minute but there was still time for more disappointment for Spurs as substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent-off for showing his studs while going in for a 50-50 ball just before the end.

Tottenham had plenty of possession in the opening 45 minutes but looked devoid of ideas and imagination, and if anything the hosts were lucky to go in at half-time level.

Norwich were sitting back and looking to hit on the counter-attack but they had the two best chances in the opening period and if it wasn't for the exploits of Friedel on two separate occasions they would have taken the lead.

After just nine minutes the American keeper tipped Russell Martin's header onto the crossbar after the Tottenham defence failed to deal with a fine Snodgrass free-kick.

Then just two minutes from the break Snodgrass himself came close, again from a header, but Friedel somehow managed to shift position and make a super save from point blank range.

Tottenham on the other hand failed to create one clear cut chance in the opening 45 minutes, with a fizzing left foot shot from Gareth Bale on the half hour being their best effort, but while that shot had plenty of power, it was straight enough that John Ruddy was able to punch it away.

Villas-Boas reacted at the break by bringing on £15m new signing Dembele for Sandro and Tottenham had a brief promising spell just after the break with another summer signing Gylfi Sigurdsson catching a volley clean that had to be saved by Ruddy. Sigurdsson would be substituted for Emmanuel Adebayor soon after.

Despite the Tottenham changes though, Norwich once more settled into their counter-attacking style and continued to manufacture chances of their own.

Grant Holt headed a half chance over in the 51st minutes and then just after the hour, Friedel had to make another good save to push away a low Anthony Pilkington effort.

Spurs fans finally had something to cheer about in the 68th minute though when a moment of class from Dembele put them in front. The Belgian tricked Jonny Howson on the edge of the area with a lovely little drag back and then fired a low shot expertly into the net.

Tottenham might have hoped to kick on after that but again Norwich crept back into the game.

Huddlestone was brought on for Jermain Defoe to try and shut up shop but Norwich got their leveller five minute before the end as Martin and Holt won successive headers from a cross before the ball fell for the impressive Snodgrass to expertly dispatch a finish from just inside the box into the corner of the net.

Neither Clint Dempsey or Hugo Lloris were signed by Tottenham in time for this game but while they could have done with the former against the Canaries, their man between the sticks certainly wasn't the problem as Friedel had to make one last save in stoppage time after Holt's back-heel set up Bradley Johnson for a powerful shot on the edge of the area.

That late effort came when Tottenham were down to 10-men.

Whether the red card was merited is open to debate but what is undisputable is the fact that Norwich were full value for their point and that Villas-Boas will soon be under pressure if performances, and more importantly results, do not quickly improve.

Fulham brought 10-man Liverpool’s eight-game undefeated streak in the league to an end with a 1-0 victory in an exciting Monday night encounter at Craven Cottage. 

Clint Dempsey tucked home the only goal of the game five minutes from time after Pepe Reina had spilled a distance effort from home captain and former Liverpool player Danny Murphy. 

Kenny Dalgish’s men hit the post once in each half thanks to quality efforts from Jordan Henderson and substitute Stewart Downing, but lost midfielder Jay Spearing 18 minutes from time for a two-footed lunge on Moussa Dembele

The dismissal sparked a late surge from the Whites, with Dempsey hitting the woodwork himself in the 80th minute before finally clinching a win for Martin Jol’s side which pulls them further away from the relegation zone. 

The two sides contested one of the choice games of last season in this very fixture back in May, and going down to a 5-2 home defeat will have played on the minds of the West Londoners and they looked determined to make amends from the outset. 

Indeed, the first real chance of the game came the hosts’ way on six minutes when Bryan Ruiz’s through pass from the left put Dembele one-on-one with Reina. 

But the goalkeeper timed his rush off the goal line perfectly and made himself big enough to block the Belgian’s strike, with Stephen Kelly closing down a Charlie Adam effort as Liverpool countered. 

Two minutes later, it was the turn of Reina’s opposite number Mark Schwarzer to pull off a similar block to deny Andy Carroll from converting Luis Suarez’s low cross. 

Dembele tested Reina again on 17, despite protests of a handball as he controlled before turning and unleashing a killer low 20-yarder to force a parry. 

Jordan Henderson’s exquisite chipped finish off the outside of his boot on 28 minutes at the end of a dazzling dribble would have made many a goal of the month competition had it not come back off the far post with Schwarzer left stranded. 

As the tempo remained breakneck, both sides looked as likely as the other to draw first blood and if it were
not for a vital sliding block by Brede Hangeland, Carroll would have done just that from another fine Suarez centre. 

Though the early stages of the second period could not hold a candle to the frenetic action of the first, the temperature went back up around the hour mark with counter after counter seeing Bobby Zamora and Craig Bellamy have shots closed down. 

Suarez’s run to try and beat the offside trap on 66 was every bit as delightful as the chipped assist into the danger zone he met from the foot of Jose Enrique, only for the assistant referee to decide he had indeed strayed beyond Hangeland just before putting the ball in the Fulham net. 

Six minutes later and the complexity of the game change, as despite Spearing winning the ball with his challenge on Dembele, his other leg came in dangerously behind the first causing him to virtually drop-kick the legs out from underneath the striker. 

Referee Kevin Friend did not hesitate to reach for his red card, and the home side were presented with a golden opportunity to search for three points against their fancied opponents. 

The best example of this came 10 minutes from time when Ruiz capped some majestic Whites passing with a short ball into the box on which Dempsey turned, faked Johnson into a red-faced stumble and chipped a wonderful finish onto the crossbar. 

After Dembele had fired at Reina as well as wide within a matter of minutes, it was Downing’s turn to find the woodwork after breaking loose from a crowd of three defenders to curl onto the near post.

But 60 seconds later, a breakaway from Fulham led to a corner which found its way back to taker Murphy, who cut inside his man and saw his low drive atypically spilled by Reina. 

Dempsey, a handful all game, was first to the loose ball and the struggling Londoners had the lead. 

And despite late substitutions and an injury to Murphy dragging three minutes of added time out to six, Fulham cleared a late barrage of crosses into their box – and almost added some gloss to the scoreline through Andy Johnson – to hold on and earn a priceless three points.