Go back 11 days and Tottenham were still top of the table. Now they are found in the bottom three of another chart. Only Brentford and Leicester have taken fewer shots in the Premier League and they at least have more goals to show for their efforts. Only Wolves, Arsenal and Norwich have hit the back of the net less often, but they have at least had more attempts. No one has fewer goals in open play than Spurs’ lone one.
Perhaps it is unfair to invoke Jimmy Greaves, their greatest ever goalscorer, now but Tottenham’s motto – “to dare is to do” – has rarely felt less appropriate. Their team contains Harry Kane, who may yet overhaul Greaves’ total of 266 goals, yet Tottenham’s attack has been largely blunt this campaign. Take away Son Heung-min’s fine counter-attacking winner against Manchester City and they have only found the net with a Dele Alli penalty and a free kick by the South Korean, courtesy of a goalkeeping error.
Nuno Espirito Santo tends to talk about “solutions”. Problems have been more apparent of late. That Kane, the reigning Golden Boot winner, is trailing a host of Chelsea defenders in this year’s contest, looks an indictment. He can be a slow starter to seasons but looked off the pace in Sunday’s defeat to Thomas Tuchel’s team.
The supposed coup of keeping Kane, the prize possession Daniel Levy fought so hard for, was predicated on the notion that he would carry on scoring at (almost) Greaves-esque rates. The fact that Kane got 23 goals last season and Spurs still finished seventh indicated the need for improvement elsewhere. Instead, so far, Spurs have had regression in attack.
There are mitigating factors; perhaps Nuno has been luckless. Kane’s summer saga delayed the start to his season. He and Son have only begun two games together. Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn, who were so impressive against City, were both injured by the time Chelsea arrived. The recent recruit Bryan Gil, who was at the Olympics, was another who was scarcely ready for the beginning of the campaign. He cannot be judged on 30 minutes of league action.
Factor in some quarantine in Croatia for Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele’s summer desire to leave and Nuno has only had one of his attack-minded players – Alli – fully fit and focused for all five games. But the way he seems to be reinventing a once potent threat as a workhorse feels revealing. The opening win against City was in part a product of running, both defensively and on the counter-attack, but there has been little creativity.
Tottenham v Chelsea player ratings
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TOTTENHAM PLAYER RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 6. The France No 1 could do little to deny all three goals, the close-range header was out of his reach and the wicked deflection took the second to the opposite corner from where it was travelling and the third was a good finish into the corner. Getty Images -
Emerson Royal – 6. The signing from Barcelona put in a solid display despite the pressure from Alonso on his side. He won the majority of his duels and offered some width going forward on the right. Getty Images -
Cristian Romero – 6. The 23-year-old put in a decent showing at the back, winning his fair share of duels and being unable to do anything to stop the goals while he was on the pitch. Getty Images -
Eric Dier – 5. Put in some key blocks at times, denying Alonso on the line but a wicket deflection off his body meant they conceded a second and slowly fell apart at the back. AP -
Sergio Reguilon – 5. The left-back endured a tough time as Chelsea grew into the second half. He could and should have done more to close down Werner to deny the cross for the third goal. AP -
Tanguy Ndombele – 6. Put in his usual performance in Tottenham colours. He showed sparks of creativity but also went missing at times before being subbed in the second half. AFP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 7. The Denmark international had his work cut out in screening the midfield with little support from his midfield partners. He did the job well at times and was key on the ball for Spurs. Reuters -
Dele Alli – 4. Showed little in the way of being able to dictate or create much during the game, rarely getting on the ball in threatening areas for Spurs. PA -
Giovani Lo Celso – 5. Offered little for Spurs when going forward on the ball, though his presence in a front three in the first half did keep the Blues back three penned in at times. Getty Images -
Harry Kane – 6. It was a polarising game for the England captain, who ran the show by dropping into space in the first half but drifted out of the match in the second half. He had little service with just the one shot coming outside the box. Getty Images -
Heung-Min Son – 6. Had one golden chance to score for the home side before Chelsea stormed into the lead. He looked a threat in the first half but was cut adrift in the second. AFP -
Bryan Gil (62’) – 6. Had few opportunities to get on the ball but looked spritely when he was able to drive forward into the opposition half. Getty Images -
Oliver Skipp (62’) – 6. Put in some great challenges at times to deny Chelsea making it a rout late on but also looked neat when passing on the ball. AFP -
Davinson Sanchez (83’) – N/R. Came on to add security late on but was unable to deny a third goal in the last few moments. Getty Images -
CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6. The goalkeeper made a collection of routine saves throughout when called upon. His positioning to act as a sweeper at times was key to deny the opposition. Reuters -
Andreas Christensen – 7. The 25-year-old put in a mature defensive performance, adding a calming presence to the backline especially in a first half that required it. PA -
Thiago Silva – 9. Rode out a tough first half where Son tried to expose him on multiple occasions, but he saw out the half well. He then opened the scoring in the second half with a bursting run to meet a cross from the corner. Getty Images -
Antonio Rudiger – 7. The centre-back put in a solid performance at the back and managed to compound the misery at the end, scoring the third goal with a great finish. AP -
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6. The Chelsea captain played a slightly more conservative wing-back role compared to Alonso on the other side, so he offered less offensively but had a composed game defensively. EPA -
Jorginho – 6. The Chelsea metronome kept the team ticking in possession and made recoveries off the ball when defending. Getty Images -
Mateo Kovacic – 6. Looked overrun at times in the first half but benefitted from the midfield change at half time. Once the change was made, he got himself involved more higher up the pitch. Getty Images -
Marcos Alonso – 7. The wing-back was a danger for his side on the left when he got himself on the ball with space to run into. PA -
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Mason Mount of Chelsea has a shot blocked by Emerson Royal of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 19, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images) -
Kai Havertz – 5. The Germany international struggled to get himself into the match, losing out on duels in key areas. Getty Images -
Romelu Lukaku – 6. Had an uncharacteristically quiet game up front. He rarely had any chances to work with and was unable to add much to the all-round game either. Could have had a couple of assists if Werner and Kovacic were able to finish off decent chances. Getty Images -
SUBS: N’Golo Kante (46’) – 8. Changed the dimension of the game in the second half in a fantastic tactical substitution from Tuchel. He added another body in midfield to allow Chelsea to dominate the game and even grabbed a goal from range with a little help from a deflection. AP -
Timo Werner (For Havertz 70’): 6 - Had chances off the bench as the game got stretched but missed several attempts when one-on-one with Lloris. Set up Rudiger with a good cutback for Chelsea’s third. AP
Nuno has veered between extremes, going from fielding three defensively-minded midfielders in the dreadful display at Crystal Palace, in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks, to putting the Dane alongside Alli, Ndombele and Lo Celso against Chelsea. It was just the third league game Spurs’ seemingly incompatible enigmas, who all want to operate in similar positions, have begun together in three seasons. So passive at Palace, Spurs started higher up the pitch and with more urgency. Yet it scarcely brought chances.
And that, in turn, raises questions about Nuno. His Wolves team were relatively low-scoring, notable for slow starts and goalless first halves. They lacked attacking midfielders in the mould of Alli, Lo Celso and Ndombele. Nuno was a devotee of a back three at Molineux. He had tried to show a flexibility by switching to 4-3-3 with Spurs.
Yet thus far it has been so narrow that Tottenham have been stifled in a straitjacket. Goals have been rarities and neither a club with a tradition of entertainment or a manager with a reputation as a footballing dullard should settle for that.
