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Spurs held at Forest
Tottenham Hotspur were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday, leaving Roberto De Zerbi’s side winless and without a single goal in three Premier League games.
“With three games played, Spurs have not scored a single goal in the Premier League this season.”
talkSPORT said Spurs have not scored a single goal in the Premier League this season after three games, and it noted their last goalless opening three league matches came in the 1974/75 season.
NBC Sports reported De Zerbi’s reaction after the scoreless draw, saying, “Disappointing for the result, but for the performance, very happy.”
NBC Sports added that De Zerbi pointed to the “last third” and said, “It’s the mistakes. We have to work in this part.”
VAR rules out Williams
The match’s defining moment came when Forest thought they had broken the deadlock through Neco Williams, only for VAR to rule out the goal for handball.
France 24 (AFP) quoted Forest boss Oliver Glasner accusing officials of “guessing” whether the ball touched Williams on the arm, saying, “I think the VAR can't intervene when he is guessing.”
Chase Your Sport said the disallowed strike produced two unwanted records, including that Spurs failed to register a single shot on target against Nottingham Forest.
The Straits Times reported De Zerbi’s view that the lack of scoring was a decision problem, with him telling reporters, “I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve.”
Pressure and next steps
With Spurs still searching for their first Premier League win and first goal of the season after the goalless draw, talkSPORT said they will be desperate to end their goal drought next Saturday when they host Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Spurs will be desperate to end their goal drought next Saturday when they host Everton”
The Straits Times linked the scoring drought to a striker shortage after Tottenham spent over £300 million on a rebuild, and it said the club missed out on Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye as he signed for Manchester City.
SportyTV said De Zerbi told BBC Match of the Day, “Our mood is to win, to win, to win,” while also arguing that Spurs have “players good enough to score many goals, like [Dominic] Solanke, Savio, [Omar] Marmoush.”
Chase Your Sport framed the immediate stakes around the winless, goalless start, saying Spurs have “failed to score in three successive Premier League matches” and that De Zerbi faces “immense pressure” if the attack does not start producing.