Tottenham again without a goal: Newcastle won 2:0, Spurs without a point after two rounds and with a 0:5 goal difference
Tottenham continued its very poor start to the new Premier League season. Roberto De Zerbi's team lost 2:0 to Newcastle United on Saturday, 29 August, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and, after the first two league rounds, remained without a point and without a goal scored. After a 0:3 away defeat to Brentford in the opening round, the second loss deepened the London club's early results crisis, with its overall goal difference now standing at 0:5. According to Tottenham's report, the home side was closer to taking the lead for a long time and finished the match with 17 shots at goal compared with Newcastle's 11, but the visitors converted their only two shots on target into two goals. Anthony Elanga scored in the 62nd minute, and Yoane Wissa made it 2:0 ten minutes later. At the end of the match, some of the home supporters sent the Spurs players off with boos, further underlining how quickly the optimism surrounding the summer changes to the squad had disappeared.
The defeat is particularly unpleasant for Tottenham because the first home league match of the season was supposed to provide a reaction after the heavy loss to Brentford. Instead, De Zerbi's team once again failed to produce a concrete end product, even though it made the better impression for much of the opening hour. Newcastle, on the other hand, followed the opening 2:2 draw against Liverpool by reaching four points and securing its first league victory under new coach Matthias Jaissle. Sky Sports states that the result left Tottenham at the bottom of the table after two matches, while for Newcastle it represented confirmation of a positive start under the new coaching staff. It is, of course, a very early stage of the season, but the difference in efficiency at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was striking: Spurs had more attempts and a longer period of initiative, while Newcastle was almost perfectly clinical when genuine chances appeared.
Tottenham created chances, Horníček protected Newcastle
After a quieter start, Tottenham gradually took the initiative. Newcastle threatened through Elanga as early as the first minute, but after that the home side increasingly entered dangerous areas and forced the visitors into defensive interventions. According to Tottenham's official report, Mathys Tel forced Lukáš Horníček into a good save in the 15th minute after a shot from the left, and just two minutes later Lewis Hall blocked Pedro Porro's close-range attempt. The Newcastle goalkeeper then also stopped Andy Robertson's shot, while near the end of the first half he saved a Jan Paul van Hecke header after a Mateus Fernandes corner. The home side therefore went into the break without a goal, but with the impression that it had created enough situations to take the lead.
Particular attention was drawn by Omar Marmoush's debut in a Tottenham shirt. The forward was involved in several dangerous moves, and early in the second half he found himself at the center of a controversial incident in Newcastle's penalty area. In the 48th minute, he reached the ball ahead of Malick Thiaw and went down after contact, but referee Peter Bankes did not award a penalty, and the decision remained unchanged after a VAR review. Tottenham continued to apply pressure, and shortly afterward Marmoush, following an attractive run, also tried from long range, but the ball went wide of the goal. After the match, De Zerbi told the club's channels that until Newcastle's opening goal his team had looked like the side more likely to take the lead. The problem was that none of those chances was converted into a goal.
Elanga punished the misses, Wissa finished the job
The shift in the rhythm of the match came in the 62nd minute. New Newcastle midfielder Nico González, who was making his debut after arriving from Manchester City, sent a long diagonal ball toward the right side. Amar Dedić won the aerial duel and headed the ball down toward Elanga, and the Swedish international reacted quickly, turned inside the penalty area and struck a shot against the post, from which the ball rebounded into the net. Tottenham had created more chances up to that point, but Newcastle changed the entire context of the match with one precise and direct move. De Zerbi then turned to a triple substitution and sent Mohammed Kudus, Destiny Udogie and Mikey Moore into the game, trying to restore intensity and width to the attack.
Just a few minutes after those changes, Newcastle delivered a second blow. Following a corner in the 72nd minute, Nick Woltemade knocked the ball down into the heart of the penalty area, and Wissa, with his back to goal, flicked the ball over himself with an acrobatic move and beat Antonín Kinský. It was a goal that practically broke Tottenham's resistance. The London club's official report states that the home side no longer created the same pressure in the closing stages as it had before conceding, although it kept possession largely in Newcastle's half. Horníček stopped Marmoush once again in the 87th minute, this time after a volley from a Mateus Fernandes cross, while Hall cleared the ball off the goal line in stoppage time following an attempt by Dominic Solanke. Newcastle thus kept a clean sheet and took victory in a match in which it defensively survived its most difficult period and then very coolly exploited its own moments.
The statistical picture only intensified the sense of frustration for the home side. According to Tottenham, Spurs had 17 shots and Newcastle 11, but the visitors had only two shots on target and both ended in the net. Such efficiency was the complete opposite of Tottenham's performance: the home side managed to reach the final third but failed to find the finishing touch that would have changed the result. The match was watched by 61,025 spectators at the stadium, and the final whistle was greeted by boos from part of the home crowd. The victory also extended Newcastle's very good run at this away venue: according to Tottenham's official report, the club from northeast England has now won four of its last five league visits to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
De Zerbi: Tottenham is not yet a team
Roberto De Zerbi did not hide his disappointment with the result after the match, but he tried to separate the performance in the first hour from what happened after conceding the opening goal. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said Tottenham had played better than Newcastle for the first 60 to 65 minutes, had more chances and more shots, but after Elanga's goal lost the necessary spacing and organization. His key message was that Spurs at this stage are not yet a fully formed team. In a later analysis, the same coach identified the creation of the right mentality and connection between the players as the biggest challenge, stressing that such stability cannot simply be bought on the transfer market.
That assessment is important in the context of major summer changes. Sky Sports estimates that Tottenham spent around £320 million on eight new players during the current transfer window, but the first two league appearances have so far failed to produce a return in terms of results. The starting lineup against Newcastle included numerous newer players, among them Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Marmoush. Sávio, another major signing, was not in the squad because of muscular fatigue, as De Zerbi confirmed. A particular detail was Tonali's match against his former club: the Italian midfielder moved from Newcastle to Tottenham this summer and now, right at the start of the new season, played against his former teammates.
The early results have therefore raised questions about how quickly a completely transformed team can come together. Tottenham also finished the previous two Premier League seasons in 17th place, Sky Sports states, so two defeats without scoring naturally cause nervousness among supporters who expect a clear departure from the previous problems. De Zerbi nevertheless said that two defeats would not change his opinion of the quality of the project or of the players at his disposal. In his assessment, the team needs to improve the connections between players, the structure of its play and its reaction after negative moments. The match against Newcastle provided a clear example of exactly that: Tottenham looked more stable while the score was 0:0, but after conceding the first goal suddenly lost control of the match.
Squad issues further complicate the start of the season
Alongside the results problem, Tottenham is also entering the final days of the transfer window with open questions surrounding several players. After the match, De Zerbi, according to reports from several media outlets covering his press conference, confirmed that Richarlison, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr had expressed a desire to leave the club. The coach stressed that he respects the players and has a good relationship with them, but added that any departures must involve a solution that is acceptable to Tottenham as well. Sarr also had a minor health issue, while Richarlison and Danso were not in the squad against Newcastle. Such a situation means that the sporting management is simultaneously trying to integrate a large number of new players and resolve the status of part of the existing squad.
Time for further changes is limited. According to official Premier League information, the summer transfer window in England closes on Tuesday, 1 September, at 11 p.m. British Summer Time. That leaves Tottenham with a very short period in which to make decisions on potential departures, as well as on any additional strengthening of the squad. The sporting context is therefore more complex than simply the 0:5 scoreline after two rounds: De Zerbi must simultaneously work on tactical cohesion, the distribution of roles, the team's mental response and the final shaping of the dressing room for the period after the market closes. Precisely for that reason, the next league match takes on greater importance than would normally be expected at the beginning of September.
Newcastle quickly embraced Jaissle's ideas
While Tottenham is trying to find stability, Newcastle left London with many reasons for satisfaction. Matthias Jaissle earned his first Premier League victory as the club's coach after his team drew 2:2 against Liverpool at St. James' Park in the opening round. In that match Newcastle also showed attacking potential: Elanga scored an early goal, while Joe Willock struck to restore the lead before Liverpool equalized from a penalty deep into the closing stages. Against Tottenham, the team was less dominant in creating chances but considerably more efficient at the key moments. After the match, Jaissle told Sky Sports that he was extremely pleased with the way the players carried out the agreed plan and with their level of commitment.
Another important positive sign for Newcastle was the contribution of players who have been given larger roles in the new season. Elanga has scored in both league rounds, while Wissa confirmed his importance at center forward against Tottenham. Debutant Nico González was involved in the move for the first goal, and Dedić provided the headed assist, showing that Newcastle is also capable of integrating new players quickly into its existing structure. At the same time, Horníček was crucial in the first half, when Tottenham enjoyed its best period. The victory was therefore not merely the consequence of two good finishes, but also of the visitors' ability to survive pressure without conceding, maintain discipline and take advantage of the change in the rhythm of the match.
For Newcastle, four points from the opening two rounds provide a solid foundation before the continuation of the league campaign. The next league challenge will be a home match against Bournemouth on 5 September, while Tottenham will visit Nottingham Forest on the same day. For Spurs, that match will be the first opportunity to end their run without scoring and avoid a further increase in pressure. The schedule has only just begun, so two rounds do not define a season, but a start with two defeats and a 0:5 goal difference leaves very little room for another poor result. De Zerbi now has to turn the passages of play that looked promising against Newcastle into concrete efficiency, because without goals even better spells of football do not bring points.
Early alarm for Tottenham, but the season has only just begun
Tottenham's biggest problem at the moment is not only the fact that it has lost two matches, but the way in which the defeats have followed one another. At Brentford, the team conceded three goals and was clearly outplayed, while against Newcastle it looked more competitive for a long time but failed to take its chances and then collapsed after conceding the opening goal. That difference may be important for De Zerbi: the performance in London offered more elements to build on, particularly in the organization of the attack before the 62nd minute, but at the same time it showed how vulnerable the team is when the match moves in an unwanted direction. In an elite competition such as the Premier League, such moments often determine the difference between a good impression and points.
For the home supporters, however, the most visible thing at the moment is the table: zero points, zero goals scored and five conceded. After significant investment and major changes to the squad, the expectation was that the new cycle would quickly provide at least some sign of progress in results. Instead, after the first two rounds Tottenham's only real confirmation has come in the form of a warning that the reconstruction may take longer than hoped. Newcastle exploited that mercilessly and showed exactly what Spurs currently lack: defensive concentration, composure after periods of opposition dominance and clinical finishing. The next week will therefore be important not only because of new points, but also as a test of De Zerbi's ability to turn the initial nervousness into a more stable team.
Sources:
- Tottenham Hotspur – official match report, lineups, key events, statistical data and attendance (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – Roberto De Zerbi's comments after the defeat to Newcastle (link)
- Sky Sports – match report, coaches' reactions, context of summer spending and Sávio's status (link)
- Sky Sports – analysis of Tottenham's start to the season and De Zerbi's comments on mentality and the squad rebuild (link)
- Newcastle United – official report from the opening-round match against Liverpool and context of Jaissle's start in the Premier League (link)
- Premier League – official dates of the 2026 summer transfer window and the closing deadline on 1 September at 11:00 p.m. BST (link)
- Globo Esporte – De Zerbi's comments on Richarlison, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr wanting to leave Tottenham (link)