Tottenham Hotspur continue to search for their inaugural Premier League goal of the campaign after being held to a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest. The match marked the third consecutive league fixture in which the London side failed to find the back of the net, a situation they have not experienced since the 1973-74 season. The opening two games of the season – defeats at the hands of Brentford and Newcastle United – placed the club under intense scrutiny, especially given the nearly £400 million that was spent on new signings during the summer transfer window. Expectations were high, and the inability to score in the first three matches has raised questions about the effectiveness of the new acquisitions and the tactical approach of manager Roberto De Zerbi, who took charge only a week before the Forest game.
The outcome could have been even more damaging for Spurs. Early in the second half, Nottingham Forest appeared to have taken the lead when winger Neco Williams struck the ball into the net. However, after a brief review, VAR intervened and ruled the goal out for a handball offence, determining that Williams had used his hand to direct the ball into the goal.
The decision sparked a heated reaction from Forest supporters, who felt aggrieved by the reversal. Williams later told Sky Sports that he believed the call was not "clear and obvious," insisting that the ball had hit the side of his head rather than his arm. "If you pause the footage it looks like it hit my arm, but it didn’t," he argued, adding that many decisions that day seemed to go against his team.
Tottenham did create a handful of chances, but most of them lacked the clinical edge required to break the deadlock. Omar Marmoush, who has been touted as a promising addition to De Zerbi’s attacking line‑up, was particularly wasteful. He squandered several opportunities, including a wide‑angle effort after beating Williams, a close‑range shot from fifteen yards following a clever pass from Antonín Kinský, and a chance that saw him miss the target entirely. De Zerbi himself admitted that the team could have scored three or four goals if the players had made better decisions in the final third.
"If you take the wrong decision you don’t score, but the chances are there," he said. Defensively, both sides were relatively even.
Forest’s Micky van de Ven rose highest from a corner to challenge Tottenham’s Mats Selberg, only to head the ball wide. Similarly, Forest striker Dominic Solanke failed to convert a well‑delivered cross, heading it poorly over the bar.
Sky Sports analyst Peter Smith noted that while Spurs matched Forest in total shots, they enjoyed three times as many touches inside the opposition penalty area and produced double the expected‑goals (xG) metric. Yet the lack of finishing precision meant that statistical superiority did not translate into a tangible result. The match also highlighted the early stage of De Zerbi’s project at Tottenham. Having only begun working with the squad the previous Thursday, the manager expressed disappointment with the draw but also optimism about the performance.
"We played well considering we only started training together last week," he told Sky Sports. He emphasized the need to improve decision‑making in the final third, citing Marmoush’s missed opportunities and the importance of overlapping runs from players like James Robertson.
De Zerbi believes that with the talent at his disposal, the team can start scoring many goals once they refine their execution. For Nottingham Forest, the point was also a missed chance to secure their first victory of the season.
The club is undergoing a period of transition under new head coach Oliver Glasner, who, like De Zerbi, is still imprinting his philosophy on a squad that has seen considerable turnover during the summer. Both managers now face the challenge of turning these early stalemates into positive momentum. In summary, the match was a textbook example of a goalless draw where both teams created opportunities but failed to capitalize. Tottenham’s inability to score for three games in a row is a statistical anomaly not seen in nearly half a century, and it underscores the pressure on De Zerbi to deliver results commensurate with the club’s significant financial outlay.
Meanwhile, Forest’s frustration over the disallowed goal adds another layer of narrative to a season that promises further intrigue as both sides seek to find consistency and firepower in the weeks ahead.