The New York Times

In his post-match press conference after his Tottenham Hotspur side were convincingly beaten by Brentford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, with the home side scoring their final goal of a 3-0 win from a corner, Roberto De Zerbi brushed off the suggestion that set pieces and a lack of physicality in the team would be a persistent concern beyond that game.

“Listen, Brentford, in set pieces, are maybe the best team in the Premier League,” the Italian said. “So it’s normal to suffer. I think we suffer(ed) more in the duels, more in the second ball, than in the set pieces.”

A week later, in Tottenham’s first home fixture of the campaign, Newcastle United got their second goal of a 2-0 win from a corner. Like at Brentford’s Gtech Stadium, Spurs failed to win with the first contact from a deep corner, allowing the ball to be headed across their penalty area to an unmarked Yoane Wissa, who acrobatically converted past Antonin Kinsky.

These moments represent a marked departure from last season, when set pieces were one of the few things Tottenham consistently did well.

Set-pieces coach Andreas Georgson was the mastermind behind their effectiveness from dead-ball situations, with the club scoring 19 of their 48 league goals via that route — the highest percentage in the Premier League (39.6 per cent). Spurs were also incredibly effective at keeping sides out from them, finishing second to Arsenal in set-piece goals conceded (nine). At just 15.8 per cent of the total (nine of 57), they were also the division’s best defence from set pieces relative to their total number of goals conceded.

The 0-0 draw away to Nottingham Forest on matchday three at the weekend was a step in the right direction in the wider sense, keeping a clean sheet and earning their first point of the season, but Tottenham remain ineffective in both boxes in set-piece situations.

As spoils of their territory and possession, the visitors won 10 corners but created just one chance, an awkward Micky van de Ven header from close range which he could not direct goalwards. With last season’s squad, a team in which strength and power in both midfield and defence were not in short supply, Spurs would typically have fashioned more from these opportunities.

In recruiting players to execute De Zerbi’s style over the summer, they have lost an edge in the physicality department — a potential flaw when you consider the Premier League today is perhaps more physical than it has been since the turn of the century.

Tottenham’s local north London rivals Arsenal became Premier League champions in May on the back of their set-piece dominance, while last season’s second- and third-placed sides Manchester City and Manchester United have both spent big since to solidify their midfields with athletes.

Of the 10 players Spurs recruited in the transfer window just ended, it’s difficult to argue that any have a stellar reputation for their aerial ability, including Tosin Adarabioyo and Jan Paul van Hecke, despite them being centre-backs listed as 6ft 5in (195cm) and 6ft 2in (188cm) tall, respectively.

While De Zerbi references Brentford as an almost-unique case regarding aerial and set-piece capability, a glance down the table leaves you wondering if any other clubs have not been built their teams with dead-ball situations in mind.

Tottenham fielded the fifth-shortest starting XI in the Premier League at the weekend (an average of 183.1 cm — just over 6ft), but height is far from the only factor.

Club captain Cristian Romero departed for Atletico Madrid in the summer, having been among Spurs’ best players in both boxes over recent seasons; Joao Palhinha scored five Premier League goals during his year on loan from Bayern Munich, including the decisive one in the 1-0 win against Everton on the final day — he is now at Benfica; Richarlison netted 11 times in the Premier League, and was often the man positioned to make the first contact at defensive corners and other set pieces; then head coach Ange Postecoglou hailed Kevin Danso as a player who “enjoys the whacks”, and the Austrian defender described himself as a “warrior” after signing for Sunderland on deadline day last week.

These players were arguably Tottenham’s most dominant physical profiles and headers of the ball last term. All are now either gone or, in Richarlison’s case, unavailable in the Premier League, having been left out of De Zerbi’s official squad.

His team selection against Forest suggests the head coach is cognizant of Tottenham’s declining effectiveness as a set-piece animal.

Conor Gallagher was a surprise pick in the starting XI, preferred to £85million summer signing Mateus Fernandes, with De Zerbi referencing how he knows English football better and that he was aiming to find the “right balance” in the team. The day before, De Zerbi namechecked Gallagher as a player who can help his team from a set pieces and physicality perspective.

“We have the centre-backs with physicality,” he said. ”Listen, to defend the set pieces, first of all, you have to have blood and the right speed to defend. Because, sometimes, it’s the duel. You have not to lose all duels because you are smaller than the opponent. We have Allan Dixon (the club’s beefy player liaison officer). We put Allan Dixon in the set pieces on the pitch, if you want?

“But I think if you do not have the spirit to fight in duels — this part makes the difference. Also, the structure, the physicality, for sure. But we have Van Hecke, Van de Ven, (Destiny) Udogie, (Rodrigo) Bentancur and (Dominic) Solanke (as options). Gallagher is very good in the set pieces. Why? Because he fights.”

But perhaps falling short in some areas, at least in the early stages of De Zerbi’s rebuild, is an inevitable trade-off as he prioritises others.

Notably, Spurs amassed 10 corners against Forest, something they did in the league only four times last season before his appointment at the end of March (the fifth and final occasion was in the 1-1 draw with Leeds United in May), reflecting how they are improving in sustaining pressure in the opposition team’s half.

In a standout display, Bentancur was at the heart of everything good about Tottenham at the City Ground, bringing a maturity and tactical discipline to the midfield. And with the aforementioned outgoings, the Uruguay international is also probably Tottenham’s best player in the air now, rendering him near-undroppable.

Another of the newcomers, Sandro Tonali, was improved, looking closer to the athletic level required to play in the Premier League than he did against Brentford, and Spurs are now stacked with talent, if potentially a little short on evidence of Premier League production, in the final third.

In transitioning the team from physical to technical, De Zerbi is, in theory, raising the ceiling.

Last season, set pieces propped the floor up just above the relegation precipice. To keep it there, he may have to divert more attention to ensuring the 2026-27 version of Tottenham have the robustness to compete in what’s become a hyper-physical Premier League.

This summer Tottenham Hotspur bought Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in a deal that could be worth £100m ($133m) and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United for £85m. In January, they saw off competition to sign Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for £34m. Last summer they bought Xavi Simons — currently recovering from a knee injury — from RB Leipzig for £51.8m to play as the No 10.

A lot of money, then, has been thrown at the Tottenham midfield conundrum over the past year or so, not just in fees but in salaries to attract these players to the club.

And yet right now it feels as if perhaps the most important midfielder, the one who has to play, is someone who has been at the club far longer.

It was Rodrigo Bentancur who got the most fulsome praise from Roberto De Zerbi on Saturday evening after Spurs had emerged from the trip to Nottingham Forest with a 0-0 draw, their first point and first clean sheet of the league season. “Great game, great game,” De Zerbi said of the Uruguayan, who had just made his third consecutive start and given his best performance of the season.

Over the course of the afternoon, Bentancur had shown again that Tottenham do not have anyone quite like him in the middle of the pitch. His awareness, understanding and ability to read the game faster than anyone else, was integral to Spurs stopping Forest from attacking through the middle.

That special sense he has, that picture in his head, also makes Bentancur integral when Tottenham have the ball and are trying to move it forward. There is no one better at showing for the ball, receiving a pass to feet from the centre-backs and, under pressure, bouncing it first time out to a full-back. (Remember when Spurs went to Forest last season, Archie Gray took an extra touch in precisely that position, Ibrahim Sangare stole the ball and Forest went 1-0 up.)

The fascinating thing about Bentancur’s role right now is that at the start of the season fans might not have expected him to play such an important part. The expectation was that Tonali and Fernandes would be first choice in the middle of the pitch, with Gallagher likely to continue in the No 10 role he held at the end of last season. Spurs turned down big money for Lucas Bergvall this summer, but given that they decided to keep him, he was set for a prominent role too. James Maddison, who recovered enough from a knee injury to play at the end of last season, has also been knocking at the door.

But as De Zerbi has tried to find the right combination so far this season, he has turned to Bentancur three times out of four. At Brentford on the opening day, it was Tonali, Bergvall and Gallagher, but those three were unable to cope with the physicality of their hosts. It was only when Fernandes and Bentancur came on that Spurs got any sort of foothold, but they were already out of the game.

So when Spurs hosted Charlton Athletic in the League Cup, Bentancur came in, anchoring for Bergvall and Fernandes to get forward. And — against a much-changed Championship side — they comfortably won 5-1. Bentancur then kept his place for the Newcastle game, alongside Tonali and Fernandes, when Spurs started well but were unable to sustain it and were eventually picked off to lose 2-0. And then again on Saturday, with Tonali and Gallagher.

Of course, at this stage of the season it is only natural there will be some rotation, some experimentation, as De Zerbi tries out new players and different combinations, attempting to find the right balance in the middle of the pitch. This is a fairly new team after all. At the same time, no one is better suited to the anchoring job, the role that allows other players to shine, than Bentancur. It almost feels as if the formula is Bentancur plus two others, at least until they have more attacking options at No 10.

But maybe this should not be so much of a surprise. Bentancur has made himself one of the great survivors of this Spurs squad. Behind the unique Ben Davies, now into his 13th season at the club, Bentancur is the joint longest-serving outfield player. He arrived at the end of the January 2022 transfer window, Fabio Paratici picking him and Dejan Kulusevski up on the cheap from Juventus (Bentancur only cost £15m, Kulusevski joined on an 18-month loan that was made permanent in 2023).

We are not far from the fifth anniversary of Bentancur’s arrival, and over that time he has made 151 Spurs appearances. Remember that he started off as half of the two-man engine room for Antonio Conte, driving Spurs towards their last top-four finish in his first few months at the club. He missed most of 2023 with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and when he came back, found himself playing a very different style under Ange Postecoglou. But he became an integral player again during Postecoglou’s second season, anchoring the team during the injury crisis, starting six of Spurs’ seven Europa League knockout games. He was as important as anyone in lifting the trophy in Bilbao, again showing the value of his experience and awareness in those huge games at the end of the season.

And even last year, Bentancur started the season playing alongside Joao Palhinha for Thomas Frank, with people wondering whether those two together could ever make the team progressive enough in the middle of the pitch. Bentancur missed three months in the middle of the season with a hamstring injury and yet when he returned, his value to the group was clearer than ever. And it was with Bentancur and Palhinha reunited in the middle for the final games that Spurs stayed up. The same nous and game intelligence that helped to lift the Europa League contributed to keeping Spurs in the Premier League in 2026.

There may always be midfield options who excite people more, who are more eye-catching or faster or more incisive. Yet Bentancur has found time and time again over the past five years that managers usually want him on the pitch. So many of his former team-mates have left the club in the intervening period and yet the 29-year-old remains, one of the last links to an era that has been moved away from at pace. Until anyone else can match his experience and football brain, he will remain as important as ever.

Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest, registering their first point of the Premier League season.

Spurs had chances to win the game, with Omar Marmoush’s effort in the first half, which he dragged wide of Matz Sels’ post, the outstanding opportunity. Forest had chances of their own, with the crowd incensed at referee Craig Pawson and VAR Peter Banks after they ruled out a Neco Williams goal for a handball offence.

The Athletic’s Elias Burke assesses the action…

When will Tottenham’s attack click?

Tottenham’s trip to the City Ground was both a meaningful step in the right direction and a painful missed opportunity.

Spurs were impressive in the first period, without threatening Matz Sels’ goal — a trend across the match, with Tottenham failing to register a shot on target in the 90 minutes. Marmoush really should have, though, after he was played in on goal by Pedro Porro, but the Egypt international dragged his shot wide. He had another opportunity in the second period, but fired wildly over.

Despite spending big on attacking reinforcements, the attack is still yet to click. Part of that is rustiness, with Savio’s pre-season preparations interrupted by the transfer saga, and Marmoush yet to build chemistry with a bunch of forwards who have spent time on the sidelines. It is up to De Zerbi to address that, and it will take time, though it’s hard to see Marmoush receiving passes in the build-up with bigger defenders in close pursuit as a sustainably effective tactic. It marks the first time they haven’t scored in the first three league games since 1974.

However, Tottenham did keep their first clean sheet of the season, and the issues relating to mentality, lack of aggressiveness, and fitness did not rear their ugly heads. Sandro Tonali delivered his most convincing performance in midfield yet, covering ground, tackling well, and driving attacks forward in transition. At the same time, the defence marshalled Liam Delap, and later Igor Jesus, well.

But Forest are in transition under Oliver Glasner too, and Tottenham had opportunities to make their territory pay, but did not manage it. De Zerbi should be pleased enough about a performance which could have easily resulted in a win, but there is still much to be done.

How was Savio on his Premier League debut for Spurs?

Tottenham fans have had to wait a week longer than expected to see Savio in the Premier League, after he was sidelined with minor muscle fatigue for last week’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

Anticipation of Savio in a Tottenham shirt had been building throughout the summer, with the Brazil international making no secret of his intention to join Roberto De Zerbi’s ranks this summer, seemingly liking and commenting on almost every post in relation to the north London club on social media. The excitement was ratcheted up another notch after his impressive cameo in the 5-1 Carabao Cup win against Charlton, where he came off the bench and scored, before inadvertently setting up another for team-mate Ben Davies.

And his first league outing for Spurs was promising. The right wing position has been a major issue for Tottenham since Mohammed Kudus went down with a hamstring injury in January. De Zerbi resorted to using natural striker Randal Kolo Muani and midfielder Conor Gallagher in that position, and the fit looked awkward at best. Without truly threatening Sels’ goal or creating any outstanding opportunities, it was apparent Savio is a natural and accomplished winger with pace and trickery, capable of hurting the opposition.

It was an encouraging debut from the 22-year-old before he was replaced near the hour mark by Kudus, but there’s surely a lot more to come.

Are Spurs lacking a true No 10?

De Zerbi has something of a midfield dilemma.

The Italian has frequently employed a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout his coaching career, and did so to good effect last term as he navigated Tottenham away from the drop. This season, however, his midfield options may work better in a different configuration.

For the second week running, De Zerbi has opted for Rodrigo Bentancur to partner Sandro Tonali in midfield, with one of Mateus Fernandes or Conor Gallagher operating ahead as a No 10. This week, Gallagher got the nod, but the issues with a lack of creativity and central progression persisted.

While De Zerbi has talked up Gallagher’s capabilities as a No 10 and noted Fernandes started his career at Sporting Club of Portugal as an advanced midfielder, neither player is a natural in that position. Kudus can also play there, but has played more frequently as a wide player in the Premier League. So while De Zerbi awaits the inclusion of James Maddison, who may take a while to get up to speed to start games after missing most of pre-season, and the return of Xavi Simons from an ACL injury sustained in April, perhaps Spurs will find more penetration in midfield with either Gallagher or Fernandes dropping slightly deeper. This could allow them to get on the ball and feed an attack with the talent to receive passes between the lines.

What did De Zerbi say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for Spurs?

Sometimes a ‘big’ signing isn’t enough. If you are Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi, teasing a “bomba” signing is what gets fans excited. Or how about acquiring an “alpha” target?

This summer’s transfer window saw an unprecedented £3.5billion ($4.7bn) spent by Premier League teams, and with this lavish spending has come a new terminology for transfers.

Teams were “foodchained” as there was plenty of business between Premier League clubs, while one side entered a “2.0” era.

Let’s dissect some of the jargon that defined this bonkers summer 2026 transfer window.

Foodchained

Foodchained is usually when a player leaves to join a ‘bigger’ club, or one with greater pull and financial power.

The term is of course patronising, and is often used humorously on football X, but this summer it has definitely caught on, and has been used to describe moves by the likes of Morgan Rogers, Sandro Tonali, Carlos Baleba and Bruno Guimaraes to the Premier League’s big six.

But ‘Big Six’ teams also have their own hierarchy. It would be fair to say Manchester City ‘foodchained’ Tottenham Hotspur to sign Iliman Ndiaye, after the player preferred to join Enzo Maresca’s team when both clubs reached an agreement with Everton.

Not every transfer counts. Take a backup goalkeeper transfer or the offloading of an unpopular/underperforming player. The term works best when the player on the move is important to their team, perhaps a fan favourite, but has buckled at the idea of joining (insert ‘bigger’ club).

Bomba

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi delivered a memorable line this summer when he told reporters in late July that Spurs were working on a “bomba” signing. This was at the height of Tottenham’s excitement in the transfer window, after they had just splashed club-record fees on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.

The Italian described a “bomba” as a “top player”.

“I think Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Senesi, Robertson are bomba,” he said. “For me, top player for us.” Bomba in Italian literally means a bomb, making a big bang with a signing.

Spurs later signed Savio, but was he the anticipated “bomba”? Could it have been Omar Marmoush or Tosin Adarabioyo? Or even Mykhailo Mudryk?

Alpha target

If signing a “bomba” doesn’t get you excited, how about an “alpha” target?

One Newcastle United insider described their €60million (£51.4m, $69.6m) deadline-day signing of Matias Fernandez-Pardo from Lille as their “alpha” target. The 21-year-old forward scored eight goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances last season.

Speaking in normal terms, this means Newcastle had tracked Fernandez-Pardo over the long term and would have moved for him sooner, but believed the player was unattainable.

Let’s hope Newcastle are not deep in the manosphere, but rather fans of the Greek alphabet — of which alpha is the first letter.

Re-hijack

Sunderland completed the €30million (£25.8m; $34.9m) signing of Lyon forward Malick Fofana on deadline day.

It wasn’t without jeopardy, as they had to ‘re-hijack’ their own deal.

After Sunderland had initially agreed a fee with Lyon, Crystal Palace tried to hijack the move and struck a deal with the French club.

Palace’s new manager, Pierre Sage, coached Lyon between 2023 and 2025 and called his former player Fofana on Tuesday morning in an attempt to convince him to move to south London instead. In response, Sunderland upped their offer to the player and agent.

With time running out to get the deal done, both clubs agreed to sanction a joint medical and sent private jets to France, awaiting transport for the player to either London or the north east.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the chairman and majority owner of Sunderland, also flew to Lyon to meet with the player.

The decision came down to Fofana’s preference, and the 21-year-old Belgium international informed Sunderland of his intention to sign with them at 9pm on Tuesday, allowing the club to submit a dealsheet before the 11pm deadline.

Need a positive spin for a complete reshuffle of your team in one window? Try calling it ‘2.0’.

Newcastle might have lost several of their key players this summer, including Tonali, Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon, and become frustrated at missing out on targets to other clubs. But the result is not a reduced side. It is “Newcastle 2.0”, according to CEO David Hopkinson.

They have had an impressive start in the Premier League and look to have a clear identity under new head coach Matthias Jaissle, targeting hungry young players in the transfer window.

Yes, the club has existed since 1881 and so has undoubtedly had more than two changes of style before. But the optics of rebranding the team as Newcastle 2.0, under ownership which joined in 2021, seem to have helped keep morale high during the hectic transfer window.

Aston Villa, who have signed 10 players after losing the core of their Europa League-winning side, have instead called it a “new generation” for their club.

Richarlison has been left out of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League squad.

The striker was told before the Premier League transfer deadline that he would not be included in their squad so he could find a new club.

Richarlison joined Spurs from Everton in July 2022 in a deal worth up to £60million. The Brazil international has under a year left on his contract and his future has been unclear throughout the summer.

He made 32 top-flight appearances last season and was the club’s top goalscorer with 11. However, head coach Roberto De Zerbi revealed on Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand last month that Richarlison “sometimes wants to leave.”

The centre-forward started their opening game of the season which was a 3-0 defeat to Brentford but Spurs then signed Omar Marmoush from Manchester City on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy.

The 29-year-old was an unused substitute in the 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup and was left out of the matchday squad completely for last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United. Marmoush started upfront against Newcastle and Dominic Solanke came off the bench in the second half.

After the loss to Newcastle, De Zerbi said he did not include Richarlison among the substitutes, along with Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr, because he “said too many times he wants to leave.” Danso and Sarr joined Sunderland and Juventus respectively.

Spurs reached an agreement in principle with Everton on Sunday to sign Iliman Ndiaye and for Richarlison to return to his former club in separate deals. Ndiaye preferred a move to Manchester City as they could offer him Champions League football, while Richarlison could not agree personal terms with Everton.

Richarlison addressed speculation on social media on Monday, saying “never again will anyone decide my future for me”.

The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Turkish side Trabzonspor had made an offer for the centre-forward. English clubs can no longer sign players but the Turkish transfer window does not close until Friday.

Each club has to submit a list of 25 senior players (over the age of 21) to the Premier League. This list must include at least eight ‘home grown’ players. Clubs can make changes following the winter transfer window.

Richarlison has been left out while Xavi Simons has been included. Xavi suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April and is unlikely to play again until 2027. Wilson Odobert, who suffered an ACL tear of his own in February, has also been included in the squad and is now noted as a homegrown player, which Premier League sides are required to have eight of in a 25-player squad.

Mathys Tel, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray do not need to be registered as they are on the Under-21s list.

‘The right time to move on’

When Richarlison realised he was not going to come off the bench in last week’s 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup, he kicked a ball on the touchline and ripped off some tape on his fingers. The forward’s frustration was clear to see.

Richarlison has worked under five different head coaches at Spurs and never felt like the perfect fit for any of them. Despite his decent goalscoring record, there are clear weaknesses in Richarlison’s game and Omar Marmoush represents a significant upgrade.

It is a brutal decision to leave him out of the Premier League squad, especially because Xavi Simons has been included but is unlikely to be fully fit until next year, yet he would not get in the starting XI over Marmoush and Dominic Solanke.

The 29-year-old was given one last chance in the opening day defeat to Brentford. Richarlison’s inability to hold the ball up under pressure from Kristoffer Ajer directly led to Keith Andrews’ side scoring their second goal.

Spurs have never really seen the best of Richarlison during his four years in north London due to a series of injuries. He did score an important goal in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa last season which helped Spurs to avoid relegation. Richarlison played a key role in the latter stages of the Europa League on the left wing and started the final against Manchester United. Supporters will always fondly remember him for his role in ending the 17-year trophy drought.

Richarlison will go down as a cult hero. He wore his heart on his sleeve but the time is right to move on. A reunion with Everton would have made sense for all parties but now he needs to hope a deal can be agreed with Turkish side Trabzonspor otherwise he will spend the next few months in the reserves.

Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor have made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Richarlison in the past 24 hours.

After their failed effort, it is not clear whether Trabzonspor will make a further attempt to bring in the 29-year-old. While the transfer deadline in England has passed, Turkish clubs are able to buy players until Friday, September 4.

Richarlison faces an uncertain future at Tottenham, having previously requested to leave the club. The signing of Omar Marmoush on loan from Manchester City has pushed the Brazilian further down the pecking order, with his playing time under Roberto De Zerbi looking increasingly scarce. He was left out of Spurs’ squad for the 2-0 defeat by Newcastle United on Saturday.

In late August, before Tuesday’s deadline, Tottenham agreed a deal with Everton that would have seen the forward return to the club he left in 2022. Ultimately, he declined the personal terms on offer, before making a series of cryptic remarks on Instagram.

“After everything I’ve been through in the last few years, I’ve decided that never again will anyone decide my future for me,” Richarlison wrote. “I went through a lot of bad things, and almost all of them happened because decisions were made by other people. Pressure, threats, retaliation — none of that scares me. I’ve been through far worse, believe me.”

Richarlison has one year remaining on his Tottenham contract, having joined from Everton in the summer of 2022. He was Spurs’ top scorer in the Premier League with 11 goals.

Welcome to week two of the Premier League performance table — the sort of ranking system that the Crystal Palace head coach Pierre Sage refuses to take any comfort from.

In case you missed week one, this isn’t the official Premier League table, where results are the be-all and end-all.

In our performance table, there’s a clean slate at the start of each gameweek, which means you can go from top to bottom (and vice versa) in the space of seven days, with the 1-20 rankings based purely on how well each team played in their last match.

How do we decide that? By watching every Premier League game in full across the last four days, dissecting where it went right and wrong, and arguing with a teenage son at the end of it all about the reason for Brentford being above Chelsea.

If there was angst last week about Fulham deserving to be higher after an entertaining 3-2 defeat against Chelsea, there’s no such concern on the back of their miserable display at Sunderland.

Other teams in this gameweek were far trickier to judge, in particular Brighton, who were part of a wild seven-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.

If nothing else, the summaries below provide you with a weekly snapshot of each team’s performance in the 2026-27 Premier League. And, naturally, you’ll be in full agreement with each and every word, given that it’s a totally subjective process.

Crystal Palace 1-4 Manchester City

T​wo ​trademark goals for Erling Haaland, two for Rayan Cherki, and two assists for Phil Foden. This was City playing with confidence, control and, in the case of Cherki, swagger.

If Cherki was poor before the interval (the Frenchman chose a different word, which requires asterisks, to describe his first-half performance), he was sensational after the break, especially with his Ricky Villa-esque solo goal.

Elsewhere, Elliot Anderson did what Elliot Anderson does — passed smartly and walked away with the out-of-possession man-of-the-match award — Nico O’Reilly played with a mix of brains and brawn (hope Anan Khalaili is OK after bouncing off the City midfielder in the first half; likewise Daichi Kamada after the nutmeg), Marc Guehi reverted to type (a class centre-back) after his brief stint as a No 6, and it was good to see Foden smiling again — even if his manager Enzo Maresca confirmed what we said last week: he’s not a right-winger.

Manchester United 5-2 Ipswich Town

For the first 40 minutes or so, Ipswich made United look distinctly ordinary. But then Michael Carrick’s side cut loose after the break, laying siege to their opponents’ goal and turning this game into a sponsored shotathon. United ended up registering 33 shots — their most in a Premier League game for a decade.

There was an impressive flow to United’s play in the final half an hour in particular (that Harry Maguire handball decision just before, by the way, is highly questionable). Bruno Fernandes understandably got the headlines for his hat-trick (what an assist for Bryan Mbeumo, too) but Kobbie Mainoo more than played his part.

The fact that Ipswich were so open in the second half (in stark contrast to Hull last week) made it easier for Matheus Cunha to link play, and Marcus Rashford’s performance also offered encouragement, including the sight of him dispossessing Abdul Fatawu late on. Luke Shaw would have appreciated that as much as anyone – Fatawu gave him a tough time.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Newcastle United

After being a lot of fun to watch in that chaotic 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the opening gameweek, Newcastle got serious against Spurs.

This was a thoroughly professional away display as Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa took another step on Tyneside’s road to redemption. Written off as flops last season, Elanga and Wissa are shining under the management of Matthias Jaissle, scoring a goal apiece against Spurs on an evening when Newcastle’s tactical approach was spot on.

The opening goal was a brilliantly executed passage of play: Nico Gonzalez’s raking diagonal exploiting space behind Andy Robertson for Amar Dedic to nod across to Elanga, who had intelligently drifted inside. Elanga’s finish was beautiful.

Signed from Benfica just under a fortnight ago, Dedic also played a part in Elanga’s opener against Liverpool and is already looking like a smart piece of business. A word also for Lewis Hall, the full-back playing on the other side to Dedic — a defensive masterclass.

Leeds United 1-1 Brentford

“Brentford with this excellent performance deserves a lot.”

That was Daniel Farke, the Leeds manager, speaking after a game that Brentford totally dominated for the opening 45 minutes.

We’re going to try not to talk about Mamadou Sangare every week — but we can’t make any promises. There were less than 30 seconds on the clock when Sangare made a superb sliding challenge to win the ball from Anton Stach, and in the blink of an eye Kevin Schade was close to giving Brentford the lead.

Forty minutes later, Schade did score — and it was a goal of the highest quality too, flicked exquisitely with his right boot after a spell of sustained pressure (40 minutes of sustained pressure, pretty much).

Leeds, to their credit, found a way back into the game but Brentford will play a lot worse this season and win.

“I really like us at the moment,” their head coach Keith Andrews said.

So do we, Keith, and that’s why your performance in this draw ranks so highly.

Chelsea 4-3 Brighton

Where to start?

Chelsea, playing at home, had only 26 per cent possession but registered 17 shots, scored four goals and finished with an xG that was twice as high as Brighton, yet their goalkeeper Emi Martinez made four times as many saves as Bart Verbruggen. Make of that lot what you will.

Last week we highlighted how Chelsea’s front three are so good that they’ll regularly compensate for their weaknesses elsewhere. Copy and paste.

That’s not to say that we didn’t learn something new: changing the goalkeeper doesn’t make Chelsea more solid defensively.

Three-nil up after 32 minutes, with Joao Pedro enjoying himself and Pedro Neto running riot on the right, the game was over. Except it wasn’t, because Chelsea, as we saw at Fulham, can’t control matches. Perhaps adapting to a new formation plays a part in that. Maybe Moises Caicedo’s absence in midfield (subbed on against Brighton, then subbed off injured) doesn’t help either. Or is this just how Chelsea play now?

What is clear is that Chelsea’s best form of defence is attack.

Liverpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest

This felt much more Oliver Glasner-like. Forest were difficult to open up in their out-of-possession 5-4-1 shape, but also carried a genuine goal threat, especially in the first half.

It was a measure of how well Forest started that Dan Ndoye’s 24th-minute goal was coming (well, not for Ndoye himself, given he’d gone 377 days without scoring for the club).

Remember we said in gameweek one about Igor Jesus always being denied — it happened again, this time the crossbar preventing him from doubling Forest’s lead. He’s cursed, that man.

In other news, James McAtee’s audition for a regular starting berth as a deep-lying midfielder could hardly be going much better; it’s easy to understand why Steven Gerrard thinks Liverpool should have kept hold of Neco Williams, and we like the look of Jair Cunha, Forest’s 21-year-old Brazilian right centre-back.

All in all, an impressive away display.

Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal

For 45 minutes nothing happened. In fact, the bloke wearing the hard hat and high-vis jacket on the building site behind the goal must have thought that his decision to offer to work late on Monday wasn’t so smart after all.

Without the ball, Arsenal were Arsenal — rock solid. With the ball, there was no fluidity. Christos Tzolis had a tough time up against Matty Cash and was withdrawn — a wise decision on Mikel Arteta’s part. On a yellow card, Tzolis was ineffective and rattled.

Eberechi Eze, Tzolis’ replacement, had a hand in the goal, feeding a pass into the path of the brilliant Riccardo Calafiori, who is more of an old-fashioned inside left than a left back. Underlapping, Calafiori slid the ball across the face for Bukayo Saka, who was razor sharp with his movement and full of desire.

Saka’s finish wasn’t pretty, but it was hugely effective — and that describes this Arsenal performance. They’re champions for a reason.

Sunderland 1-0 Fulham

Sunderland could be punching here. The worry is that Wilson Isidor’s goal, tucked away after a similar chance had hit the post four minutes earlier, has elevated Regis Le Bris’ team more than it should. That said, it’s hard to get too excited about the performance of anyone below them in the table.

What is clear is that the versatile Nordi Mukiele was superb against Fulham, making up a lot of ground for a crucial block after it looked like Gonzalo Garcia had escaped, and also playing a part in the goal with the measured pass that released Habib Diarra to cross for Isidor.

Otherwise, Sunderland were solid without the ball but unspectacular with it. Granit Xhaka hit some nice switches of play (a lovely pass set Enzo Le Fee free for that earlier Isidor opportunity), but ultimately it was the impact of two substitutes that tipped the balance in a drab game.

Coventry 0-1 Hull City

“We’re gonna win the league.”

That may turn out to be so, but you’re not top of the performance league for a second successive week, Hull supporters.

The last action of the game felt fitting. Remember those ‘Ave it!’ John Smith’s bitter TV commercials years ago, when the comedian Peter Kay booted the ball into the air? Well, that’s what Semi Ajayi did to repel one final Coventry attack, the centre-back’s clearance sailing into the opposition half.

Coaches sometimes put on drills where they station players about 30 yards from goal in various positions and ask them to lump balls into the area for the defenders to clear. Coventry did that for 90 minutes on Saturday, and Ajayi and his team-mates loved it.

Hull had 31.5 per cent possession, which was up 3.2 per cent on the Manchester United game. Their game plan worked perfectly: low block, 5-4-1, try to break us down, get frustrated, and we’ll hit you on the counter.

Two games, two victories, two clean sheets. Good on you, Hull.

Bournemouth 1-1 Everton

The first thing to say is that Alex Scott was the best player on the pitch.

Maybe — just maybe — Bournemouth wouldn’t have conceded a stoppage-time equaliser if the midfielder hadn’t been withdrawn with three minutes remaining, bearing in mind that his replacement, Ryan Christie, was one of two players who challenged for the same ball prior to James Tarkowski equalising. “A slapstick goal,” lamented Marco Rose, Bournemouth’s head coach.

Two weeks running, Bournemouth have surrendered points at the death after being punished on corners, which is a shame because there’s a lot to like about what they’re trying to do in open play. A second goal could, and should, have arrived — but Jordan Pickford and some last-ditch Everton defending intervened… and, well, use that right foot, Rayan!

In fairness, the Brazilian used his left to good effect for Bournemouth’s opener, releasing Evanilson in the right channel after doubling up on Tyrique George and stealing possession. Scott did the rest, and it should have been the matchwinner.

Bournemouth 1-1 Everton

“Disappointed with the performance,” David Moyes, Everton’s manager, said, which is helpful for our summary.

That said, Thierno Barry, who responded to our assertion that he’s not the long-term solution up top for Everton by sticking two fingers up with a midweek hat-trick against Preston, had three good chances at Bournemouth. Unfortunately, Barry couldn’t take any of them, which kind of brings us back to the original argument, even if we still love his smile.

Everton were better in the first half, when Bournemouth’s goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic made an outstanding save to keep out Jarrad Branthwaite’s glancing header.

The visitors were actually enjoying their best spell when they conceded — Tarkowski’s lack of pace was exposed as Bournemouth profited on a counter-attack.

A positive for Everton is that Harrison Armstrong played with great maturity once again and, in terms of the transfer window, is going nowhere. Who says fans don’t have a voice these days, eh?

Liverpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest

Thirty crosses sounds great. Five completed isn’t so clever. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez registered 0/6 successful crosses. In the space of 37 seconds in the second half, Frimpong inexplicably hit the first man (cue load groans inside Anfield) and Kerkez passed the ball straight out of play. Upgrades needed, folks.

You can’t pin it all on the starting full-backs, though — Cody Gakpo’s excellent centre for Alexander Isak was the only one of the five that he delivered that found a team-mate; two went out for a throw-in on the far side.

More generally, Liverpool’s creativity and attacking quality simply wasn’t good enough. Sure, there was an improvement in the second half (there had to be) when Florian Wirtz was involved in both goals, including an assist for the industrious Victor Munoz. But Liverpool never played with enough intent or conviction, and they’ve still got major problems without the ball.

Leeds 1-1 Brentford

Let’s cut to the chase: Leeds got away with one here. They were comprehensively outplayed in the first half and grateful to get to half-time only one goal behind.

So you’re saying Leeds were awful? No. Brentford were excellent, controlling midfield and pinning Leeds back in a way that few teams manage to do at Elland Road. It was, essentially, one-way traffic for 45 minutes.

“We forced them into changing the system,” Keith Andrews, Brentford’s head coach, said.

And not just once, either. Daniel Farke, the Leeds manager, deserves credit in that respect, with his tactical changes — the back three was discarded and later restored — eventually paying off as the substitute Lukas Nmecha came off the bench to set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the equaliser.

A point gained in the circumstances – and a reminder that Leeds are tough to beat even on an off day.

Chelsea 4-3 Brighton

Three-nil down early on, Fabian Hurzeler’s injury-ravaged team were getting a taste of their own medicine after dismantling Aston Villa last week. The big difference, though, is that Brighton, totally unlike Villa, responded.

On his first Premier League start, Malick Yalcouye did as much as anyone to inspire the turnaround, scoring an excellent volley and playing a lovely pass in the lead-up to Brighton’s second. Aged 20, Yalcouye could turn out to be Carlos Baleba’s replacement. Just like Baleba was Caicedo’s replacement. Tell us how you do it, Brighton.

Brighton were very good for an hour at Chelsea, but you can’t ignore the calamitous first 30 minutes and the fact that the word ‘performance’ takes in a dying art called defending. Ferdi Kadioglu, last season’s player of the year at Brighton, will have nightmares about Pedro Neto, and Mats Wieffer, the other full-back, wasn’t much better.

Still, full marks for the attempted fightback.

Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal

A big improvement on last week’s humiliation at Brighton.

Admittedly, that’s not saying much, and we also can’t overlook the fact that for a second successive game Villa failed to register a shot on target. But there were still positives to take for a team that is going through considerable change and missing key personnel.

Nobody could question Villa’s effort on a night when the home crowd got right behind the team and Unai Emery’s players responded by competing for every ball as if their life depended on it.

Up front, Nicolas Jackson was a willing runner, Alysson came off the bench and delivered a lively cameo, and the new Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki showed that his distribution could be a real asset.

Ultimately, though, Villa never really looked like hurting Arsenal.

Manchester United 5-2 Ipswich Town

What happened? It was all going so well and then Marcelino Nunez slipped over, Bruno Fernandes scampered clear to equalise, the heavens opened and Ipswich were swept away in a deluge of second-half goals.

Poor old Jacob Greaves endured a torrid afternoon. The centre-back scored an own goal and also gave away a penalty as Ipswich, after a bright start, totally lost their way.

If there was an element of misfortune about the first two goals Ipswich conceded, there was no disputing the gulf in class thereafter. Ipswich didn’t help themselves during that final half hour, when they were far too open — Gary O’Neil, their manager, talked about the importance of showing “emotional discipline” after falling behind — and United took full advantage.

Still, let’s end on a high: Julio Enciso.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Newcastle United

“You can’t buy mentality in the transfer market,” the Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi said afterwards.

You also can’t play Mathys Tel on one wing and Pedro Porro on the other and hope to win football matches.

Spurs were nice: nice to watch playing out, but also nice to play against. Their fragile confidence was exposed in the way they reacted to Elanga opening the scoring after Newcastle capitalised on a mixture of poor defending (the underwhelming Sandro Tonali was part of that) and a lack of pressure on the ball. It was certainly no surprise to see Wissa add a second 10 minutes later.

If we’re looking for some silver linings, Jan Paul van Hecke’s passes in build-up play would be one and Andy Robertson got into some promising attacking positions in the first half. But Tottenham fans — and the rest of us for that matter — are entitled to expect a lot more after this summer’s outlay.

They need to improve, fast.

Crystal Palace 1-4 Manchester City

“It’s not a ranking of style, it’s a ranking of efficiency,” Pierre Sage said after the Manchester City defeat, with the Palace head coach sounding like a man who hasn’t bought into our performance table.

Sage was responding to a television reporter’s dubious suggestion that Palace played better against City than they did at Goodison Park (this column isn’t sure about that).

Palace positives against City? Adam Wharton’s first-half display. Wharton was so good that you felt sorry for him because of the inadequacies of those around him, a bit like when a smart kid is put in the wrong set at school. Jorgen Strand Larsen, Eddie Nketiah and Yeremy Pino… how could you keep undoing all his good work?

That trio all came off. But Palace, passive in defence and toothless up front, got worse. “You cannot replace the fatigue with less energy,” Sage said, rather damningly.

Coventry City 0-1 Hull City

Back to the classroom.

“There are some serious lessons to learn,” Frank Lampard, the Coventry head coach, said after a deeply worrying performance.

Coventry’s slow, prosaic style of football played into the hands of Hull’s 5-4-1 low block and a team that loves old-school defending.

The clues were there for Coventry the week before. Manchester United delivered 39 crosses against Hull and failed to score. Coventry tried more of the same — 34 crosses in their case. In the space of 45 first-half seconds that we’ll never get back, Loum Tchaouna, Ephron Mason-Clark, Jay Dasilva and Bobby Thomas all delivered aimless balls into the Hull penalty area that were headed clear.

Try something different, lads — but not a centre-back shooting from 35 yards, Aurele Amenda.

To cap it all, Coventry got away with giving Liam Millar one golden chance to break away and score but then handed him another. Asking Matt Grimes to hold the fort in that scenario really isn’t it.

Sunderland 1-0 Fulham

Right now, Fulham are as low as Calvin Bassey’s shorts — sagging, the kids call it, apparently.

Not that this is a time for jokes, especially bad ones.

“It was a terrible game from my team,” Alvaro Arbeloa, Fulham’s head coach, said. “We didn’t fight. We didn’t run. Poor technical level. We didn’t win any duels. No second balls.”

On top of that, Fulham also didn’t have a shot on target and conceded a dreadful goal, when Joachim Andersen’s lack of pace (we said last week that a right-footed centre-back is needed), together with the goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s bizarre decision to come out feet first, enabled Wilson Isidor to score.

One passage of play summed Fulham up. Two minutes before the break, Josh King screamed for a forward pass from Sander Berge. Back to goal with his arms outstretched, King was totally free. Berge looked. Looked again. And looked a third time. Then passed square to Oscar Bobb, who meekly surrendered possession.

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal to sign Tosin Adarabioyo on a permanent basis from Chelsea.

Personal terms have been agreed with the defender and he has been granted permission to undergo a medical.

The centre-back would be Tottenham’s ninth signing of the summer, with Spurs also making an enquiry for Tosin’s Chelsea team-mate Mykhailo Mudryk. A loan deal has been agreed for the Ukrainian but terms still need to be finalised with the forward.

A deal would represent the first time since 2009 that a first team player has moved directly in a transfer between the two clubs.

Tottenham’s move for Tosin comes after centre-back Kevin Danso expressed a desire to find a move away according to head coach Roberto De Zerbi, with Richarlison and Pape Matar Sarr also asking to leave.

The Athletic reported earlier this month that Tosin, 28, was lined up to be sold to a club in England or abroad. The former Fulham defender has not been included in any of Xabi Alonso’s first three matchday squads.

As of the beginning of August, Chelsea had 10 centre backs on their books, following the £30million departure of Trevoh Chalobah to Como. Benoit Badiashile has since departed to Napoli on loan with an option to buy, while Mamadou Sarr and Axel Disasi have joined Real Sociedad and Crystal Palace on loan respectively.

Tosin started eight Premier League matches for Chelsea last season, with four of those coming in the opening month of the campaign. He initially lost his place in the starting line-up as a result of a calf injury, and struggled to nail down a regular spot thereafter.

The defender had played more regularly in the previous campaign, and featured in 10 of Chelsea’s 13 Conference League matches en route to lifting the trophy.

Tosin signed a four-year deal at Stamford Bridge upon joining the club on a free transfer from Fulham in June 2024. Newcastle had been tracking him and were hopeful of completing a move before he joined Chelsea, while West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur had bids rejected for the defender in the summer of 2023.

He came through Manchester City’s academy and made eight first-team appearances, three of which in the Champions League.

Newcastle’s 2-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur confirmed more than just Matthias Jaissle’s first victory as head coach.

Three weeks after replacing Eddie Howe, this performance and result showed that Jaissle’s side have a clearer and better tactical identity than Spurs under Roberto De Zerbi — who is nearly five months into his tenure.

Newcastle were not box office, but they were organised and effective. Inside a minute they showed their game plan, when No 6 Nico Gonzalez hit a diagonal ball from deep to advancing right-back Amar Dedic. The narrow positioning of winger Anthony Elanga, who occupied Spurs left-back Andy Robertson, created an overload.

Dedic nodded the ball down to Elanga. His hooked pass to the back post led to nothing, but it should have been a warning shot.

The synchronicity of those rotations — the No 6 dropping between the centre-backs and the winger moving inside for the full-back to overlap — was something Spurs could not match.

Pedro Porro, club captain and nominal right-back, struggled at right wing. He completed one cross and had one notable shooting opportunity, when Newcastle defenders crowded him out in the box. On the other flank, Mathys Tel did little to combine with Robertson, who kept offering runs ahead of the ball.

The decisive goal on 62 minutes came from the very pattern that Newcastle worked throughout the first half. Nico, only signed from Manchester City last week, found Dedic, who headed another knockdown to Elanga.

“He used to play in that system with that approach,” Jaissle said of Dedic, whom he coached at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. “That forward-defending behaviour, (being) brave in possession. We allow him to be offensive.”

Fittingly, Elanga escaped Sandro Tonali as he swivelled and fired in the opener off the post. Tonali, signed by Spurs from Newcastle for £100m in July, encapsulates their issues: a plethora of top-level players who cost big money, but cohesion and identity cannot be bought.

Elanga, having not scored for Newcastle in the Premier League last season following his big move from Nottingham Forest, has two goals in as many matches this term. Give him direct balls, big spaces to run into and a supporting full-back, and nobody matches his speed.

“It’s important that we are versatile, otherwise it would be too easy for our opponents to read what we are doing,” the Newcastle head coach said. Whereas De Zerbi is tactically strict and steadfast in his belief in pattern-based passing, Jaissle is fitting his system to the players.

The performance of the game came from Lewis Hall, a left-back with outstanding technical quality but obvious defensive weak spots, who struggled towards the end of 2025-26 when Newcastle leaked goals. The 4-5-1 mid-block that former coach Howe persisted with often left Hall exposed.

Here, he defended flawlessly against Porro’s forward runs and headed away deep crosses, making 14 defensive contributions. In the dying stages, Hall made a goalline clearance to keep out Dominic Solanke’s backheel from a low cross, ensuring Newcastle kept a first clean sheet since March.

Collectively, Jaissle’s side nailed their out-of-possession plan. He told reporters: “If you are playing against Tottenham, especially with De Zerbi as the coach, you need to be clear. If you go in the high press, you need to be fully committed; you shouldn’t hesitate.

“You need to be aggressive on the man and if you win these duels you can challenge them on their goal. If you lose them or if you’re a little bit in doubt, then you need to (drop deep and) defend your own box. This was the message.”

Newcastle’s 4-4-2 matched up to the 4-box-2 shape that De Zerbi likes, where the No 9 and No 10 drop deeper to attract opposition centre-backs, while the wingers stay high and look for diagonal runs to exploit the space. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky only tried to release Porro once in the first half, and Hall read these passes when they increased in frequency after the break.

Jaissle’s point about commitment in the press was shown by academy graduate Lewis Miley aggressively marking Rodrigo Bentancur. This helped to stifle Spurs’ build-up, and it’s why Tonali kept rotating out to the left to receive passes.

Compare Miley’s attentiveness to one sequence midway through the first half, when Matheus Fernandes pushed up so that Spurs could press with a narrow front three. Lukas Hornicek, the Newcastle goalkeeper, spotted Fernandes checking his shoulder, and broke the line with a pass into Miley.

Spurs’ problems are mounting: injuries, new signings to embed, a churned squad and, most worryingly, a lack of resolve. They last won a Premier League game from 1-0 down in November 2024. Since then they have lost 28 matches and drawn eight times after conceding first. Newcastle put the game to bed with two goals in 10 minutes, as Spurs conceded from an in-swinging corner for a second straight game.

De Zerbi’s three wins last season were all by a marginal goal, featuring precious few of those incisive passing moves that brought him success at Brighton & Hove Albion. His seven games at the end of 2025-26 should be viewed as being part of a relegation battle.

But he’s had a pre-season now and, tactically, the early signs are worrying.

Brentford dominated Spurs physically on the opening weekend and pressed them into all sorts of problems. His squad selections have also been curious: academy graduate Mikey Moore and right-back Porro as his right-wing starters; Fernandes and Conor Gallagher at No 10, despite being very different profiles; Richarlison (who may yet leave) and Omar Marmoush both struggling in the back-to-goal role that is needed for these tactics to work.

“Winners celebrate, losers explain, and I’m explaining,” the head coach said post-match. It’s the 21st Premier League home defeat for Spurs since August 2024, the joint-most along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were relegated last term.

Newcastle are rebuilding after the departures of Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Tonali over the past 12 months, before Howe went too. Spurs, treading water by comparison, are doing little to disprove the idea that consecutive 17th-place finishes were anomalies.

“You can’t buy mentality in the transfer market.”

Roberto De Zerbi’s analysis of Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat by Newcastle United had nothing to do with tactics. Spurs have spent more than £300million ($406m) on eight new signings this summer but the psychological scars that have been inflicted on them over the past few years are taking longer than anybody would like to heal.

Spurs finished 17th in back-to-back seasons and have lost 41 of their previous 78 top-flight matches. They have suffered 11 defeats at home since the start of last season, which is the joint-worst record in the Premier League along with relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since January 2025, Spurs have taken 55 points from 59 league games.

Over the past couple of weeks, De Zerbi has spoken about changing the bad habits Spurs’ squad have picked up. Those habits were clear to see after Anthony Elanga opened the scoring for Newcastle and Spurs “lost the confidence”. De Zerbi’s first full season in charge has started with two defeats, five goals conceded and none scored in the Premier League.

“The reaction was not good enough,” De Zerbi told reporters after the game. “Not the reaction I want to see on the pitch, and I said immediately after the end of the game (to) the players, because when you are building something new, it’s tough, there are problems, the difference is how you want to find the solution of these problems, and the solution is not to put down the head, but to react, because we had 20 minutes again to score one, two or maybe three goals.”

Newcastle’s opener was almost a replica of a chance they created in the first minute. On both occasions, Nico Gonzalez fired a pass to the right wing where full-back Amar Dedic headed the ball towards Elanga. The Sweden international chipped the ball over Antonin Kinsky on the first attempt and Archie Gray cleared it for a corner.

The second time, Elanga swivelled past his former team-mate Sandro Tonali and fired a left-footed shot into the net via the post. It is a pattern the players and coaching staff should have recognised.

Spurs did perform better than in their 3-0 defeat by Brentford before Elanga’s effort in the 62nd minute. Debutant Omar Marmoush kept dropping deep to receive the ball and dribbled directly at Newcastle’s centre-backs Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman. He played a clever reverse pass to Andy Robertson. In the second half, he picked up possession out wide, nutmegged his former Manchester City team-mate Gonzalez and fired a shot that went just past the post. It all fizzled away when Newcastle took the lead.

Substitute Mohammed Kudus added a small dose of unpredictability to Tottenham’s attack on his first appearance since January after recovering from a quad injury, but his crossing was poor. Tonali won a free kick that Mathys Tel cannoned over the bar. Marmoush fired a shot straight at Lukas Hornicek when unmarked at the back post, while Dominic Solanke had an effort cleared off the line by Lewis Hall in stoppage time.

But Spurs became involved in a few spats, which were an unnecessary distraction. Solanke was frustrated by a tackle from Botman while Pedro Porro had to be separated from Bazoumana Toure. At full time, Porro and Mateus Fernandes confronted Jacob Ramsey. When De Zerbi talks about players reacting badly after conceding, it applies to them losing their cool as well as their motivation. There were too many occasions last season when tempers flared, but adversity does not always have to lead to a crisis.

“It’s the biggest problem, it’s the biggest challenge and it’s the biggest target to find the right mentality,” De Zerbi added.

There has been a huge amount of change this summer at Spurs and it is going to take time for a new order to be established. Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Porro are building up their sharpness after limited involvement in pre-season. Tonali and Fernandes started a competitive game together for the first time. Savio was unavailable because of muscle fatigue he picked up in training after his superb debut in midweek.

Relationships need to be built across the defence with so many new faces. To underline the churn, De Zerbi made five changes to the starting XI after the loss to Brentford: Lucas Bergvall, Marcos Senesi and Conor Gallagher became unused substitutes, and there were a few curious decisions.

Porro, who started at right-back behind Lamine Yamal for eventual champions Spain at the World Cup, featured higher up on the wing in front of Gray. Fernandes produced his best performances for West Ham United dropping deep to receive the ball from his centre-backs but was tasked with operating as a No 10.

Tonali played either as the right-sided No 8 or as the holding midfielder during his time with Newcastle. The Italy international kept drifting over into pockets of space on the left in the first half to receive chipped passes from Kinsky. Tonali made a few impressive runs from midfield but ended up dribbling the ball into trouble a couple of times.

A few players are unsettled ahead of the transfer window closing on Tuesday evening. De Zerbi revealed Richarlison, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr have all asked to leave. Richarlison started against Brentford while Danso has been a valuable squad member over the past 18 months. The uncertainty will be impacting their team-mates.

There is a slightly awkward parallel right now between Spurs and Arsenal in the 2021-22 season, which should give supporters encouragement. They were both humbled by Brentford in their opening game. Arsenal lost their first three matches without scoring as, like De Zerbi, Mikel Arteta struggled to integrate new signings after significant investment. Arsenal eventually clicked and finished fifth, two points behind Spurs under then-head coach Antonio Conte. Only two players from Arsenal’s defeat by Brentford, Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli, started their 5-1 victory over Everton on the final day.

Spurs fans will hate that Arsenal are a reference point for them, but they are the perfect recent example of a team spending heavily and taking a few heavy blows on the way to becoming a cohesive unit. In the short term, however, their team needs to become more resilient for the immediate obstacles ahead.