Tottenham’s Goalless Start Sets a 144-Year Unwanted Record

400 Minutes and Counting Without a Goal

Tottenham Hotspur have never before failed to score in each of their first four league matches to open a domestic season in their 144-year history — until now. The run reads: a 3-0 opening-day defeat to Brentford, a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle United, and back-to-back goalless draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton. It has been more than 400 minutes since Spurs last found the net in the Premier League.

Spurs sit on just 2 points after four games, leaving them joint-second in the all-time Premier League ranking for the longest goalless start to a season. The outright record still belongs to Crystal Palace, who went seven matches without scoring at the start of 2017/18 — a mark Tottenham are now uncomfortably close to threatening if the drought continues.

The scoreless run is even more jarring given the scale of investment behind it — Roberto De Zerbi’s new-look side arrived into the season off the back of a reported £332m summer outlay that brought in ten new players, all aimed at pushing Spurs back into the top four picture.

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