Tottenham equal unwanted 52-year record in Nottingham Forest draw as attacking problems mount

Tottenham Hotspur equalled an unwanted 52-year club record in their uninspiring 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in the Premier League.

Roberto De Zerbi's men travelled north winless, pointless and goalless from their opening two top-flight games of the season, falling to Brentford and Newcastle United while shipping five goals in total.

The Lilywhites received a welcome fitness boost ahead of kickoff on Saturday, as Savio returned from a minor muscular issue to make the first XI after his standout debut against Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup.

However, the former Manchester City attacker could not inspire Spurs to their first win of the season against Oliver Glasner's side, who came the closest to stealing all three points.

The Tricky Trees thought that they had broken the deadlock when Neco Williams bundled the ball over the line, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review, as the right-back was deemed to have handled the ball.

Tottenham fail to score in first three Premier League games for first time ever

Tottenham nevertheless managed 1.57 xG compared to the hosts' 0.65, but they missed two big chances and are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season.

As a result, Spurs have failed to score in their first three games of a Premier League season for the first time ever, and for the first time in over half a century in the top flight altogether.

The last time Tottenham opened a league season without scoring in their opening three games was in 1974-75, when they ultimately finished 11th in the table with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses.

The Lilywhites' draw at the City Ground on Saturday at least saw De Zerbi's men put their first point on the board, and they have temporarily climbed out of the relegation zone in the Premier League table as a result.

However, Tottenham will drop back down into the bottom three if Aston Villa either beat Hull City or play out a score draw with the Tigers in the 5.30pm kickoff.

Did Roberto De Zerbi make a mistake in Tottenham draw with Forest?

De Zerbi made three changes to his Tottenham lineup for the clash with Forest, as Savio, Conor Gallagher and Destiny Udogie replaced Archie Gray, Mateus Fernandes and Andy Robertson.

The Italian kept faith in Omar Marmoush up front, but the Egyptian failed to have a shot on target and missed one big chance in the stalemate with the Garibaldi.

De Zerbi waited until the 84th minute to swap out Marmoush for Dominic Solanke, who had little time to make an impact at one of his favourite stadiums.

Prior to Saturday's game, Solanke had been involved in six goals in four league games at the City Ground against Forest, including a hat-trick for Bournemouth in 2023.

There is no guarantee that Solanke's past feats would have translated into another goal today, but another scoreless showing gives De Zerbi a serious issue to solve.