Tottenham Hotspur have scored just two goals in their opening five Premier League matches of the 2026/27 season, but how unusual is that in the club’s recent history?
The numbers put Tottenham’s current attacking problems among the worst starts of the club’s Premier League era.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to score in their opening four league matches before Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke finally found the net in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
That leaves Spurs averaging just 0.4 goals per Premier League game after five matches and sitting bottom of the Premier League table.
A look back through Tottenham’s previous Premier League campaigns shows just how rare such a slow start in front of goal has been.
Tottenham’s two goals matches their 2006/07 start
The last Tottenham side to score only twice across their opening five Premier League matches was Martin Jol’s team in 2006/07.
Spurs began that campaign with a 2-0 defeat at Bolton before beating Sheffield United 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
They then failed to score in three consecutive league matches against Everton, Manchester United and Fulham.
| 2006/07 opening five | Result |
| Bolton Wanderers (A) | Lost 2-0 |
| Sheffield United (H) | Won 2-0 |
| Everton (H) | Lost 2-0 |
| Manchester United (A) | Lost 1-0 |
| Fulham (H) | Drew 0-0 |
| Goals scored | 2 |
Tottenham therefore scored exactly the same number of goals after five games in 2006/07 as De Zerbi’s current side has managed in 2026/27.
There is, however, one significant difference.
Jol’s side had four points after five matches, having beaten Sheffield United and drawn with Fulham. Spurs currently have only two.
Tottenham’s lowest-scoring starts in Premier League history
Several Tottenham teams have struggled in front of goal during the opening weeks of a Premier League campaign, but very few have produced numbers comparable to this season.
| Season | Goals after five PL games | Goals per game |
| 2026/27 | 2 | 0.40 |
| 2006/07 | 2 | 0.40 |
| 1992/93 | 3 | 0.60 |
| 2021/22 | 3 | 0.60 |
| 1996/97 | 4 | 0.80 |
| 1998/99 | 4 | 0.80 |
| 2003/04 | 4 | 0.80 |
| 2004/05 | 4 | 0.80 |
| 2008/09 | 4 | 0.80 |
SpursWeb analysis based on Tottenham’s first five Premier League results in each season.
The comparison highlights just how extreme Tottenham’s current problems are.
Even several Spurs sides remembered for poor starts were more productive after five matches.
The infamous 2008/09 team, for example, scored four goals across their first five league games despite taking only two points during that period.
Tottenham’s current side has managed half that total.
Spurs were nearly twice as productive during the 2008/09 nightmare
The 2008/09 campaign remains one of Tottenham’s most famous poor starts.
Spurs lost against Middlesbrough and Sunderland before drawing at Chelsea, losing to Aston Villa and drawing 0-0 with Wigan.
| 2008/09 opening five | Result |
| Middlesbrough (A) | Lost 2-1 |
| Sunderland (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Chelsea (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Aston Villa (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Wigan Athletic (H) | Drew 0-0 |
| Goals scored | 4 |
That side had exactly the same points total as Tottenham do now after five matches, but had scored twice as many goals.
Spurs eventually recovered to finish eighth that season after Harry Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos, but the comparison underlines how unusual the current lack of attacking output is.
Tottenham scored twice as many in 2004/05
The 2004/05 season also began slowly in an attacking sense.
Tottenham scored four goals across their opening five matches, with three of those fixtures ending 1-1 or 1-0.
| 2004/05 opening five | Result |
| Liverpool (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Newcastle United (A) | Won 1-0 |
| West Bromwich Albion (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Birmingham City (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Norwich City (H) | Drew 0-0 |
| Goals scored | 4 |
Despite the modest scoring numbers, Spurs collected nine points from those five fixtures.
That is more than four times the points De Zerbi’s team has managed this season despite scoring only two more goals. The difference was defensive solidity.
Tottenham conceded just two goals in those opening five games in 2004/05, meaning a low-scoring attack did not immediately become a major problem. This season Spurs have conceded eight.
Even the difficult 2021/22 start produced more goals
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham also endured an attacking slowdown during the opening weeks of 2021/22.
Spurs won each of their first three league matches 1-0 against Manchester City, Wolves and Watford before suffering consecutive 3-0 defeats against Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
That meant Tottenham had scored three goals after five games.
| 2021/22 opening five | Result |
| Manchester City (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Wolves (A) | Won 1-0 |
| Watford (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Crystal Palace (A) | Lost 3-0 |
| Chelsea (H) | Lost 3-0 |
| Goals scored | 3 |
Even during a period when Harry Kane had yet to score a Premier League goal that season, Tottenham still had a better attacking return than the current side.
Kane himself had scored five league goals after five matches the previous season, highlighting just how dramatically Tottenham’s attacking output has changed over time.
The contrast with Tottenham’s strongest attacking starts
The difference becomes even more striking when compared with Tottenham’s better starts. Last season Spurs scored 10 goals in their first five matches.
In 2024/25 they scored nine. In 2023/24 they scored 13, and in 2020/21, Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham scored 15 goals across their opening five Premier League fixtures.
| Season | Goals after five |
| 2020/21 | 15 |
| 2023/24 | 13 |
| 2025/26 | 10 |
| 2024/25 | 9 |
| 2026/27 | 2 |
That means Tottenham are currently scoring at less than one-seventh of the rate they managed at the same stage in 2020/21.
The scale of the decline is also clear when compared with SpursWeb’s analysis of how Tottenham’s current Premier League start compares with the previous three seasons.
From Kane and Son to no goals from a recognised forward
The most alarming feature of Tottenham’s current start is not simply the total number of goals. It is where those goals have come from.
After five league matches, Tottenham’s only scorers are Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke.
None of Spurs’ recognised forwards have scored in the Premier League this season. That includes Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush, alongside the other attacking players available to De Zerbi in Tottenham’s first-team squad.
The contrast with recent seasons is substantial.
| Season | Leading Spurs scorer after five |
| 2026/27 | Gallagher / Van Hecke – 1 |
| 2025/26 | Richarlison – 3 |
| 2024/25 | Heung-min Son – 2 |
| 2023/24 | Heung-min Son – 3 |
| 2020/21 | Harry Kane – 5 |
Richarlison’s absence from Tottenham’s Premier League squad therefore continues to attract attention. The Brazilian was Tottenham’s leading scorer at the same stage last season with three goals, and in contrast, this season, the entire team has scored two.
That does not necessarily mean Richarlison would have solved Tottenham’s problems, but it does make the decision to completely remove another experienced goalscorer from De Zerbi’s options increasingly significant.
Tottenham’s current attack has almost no margin for error
A team can survive a low-scoring period if its defensive record is strong, the 2004/05 side demonstrated exactly that.
Tottenham scored only four goals in their first five matches that season but conceded just twice and collected nine points.
The current situation is very different.
| Season | GF | GA | Points after five |
| 2004/05 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 2006/07 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2008/09 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2026/27 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
Tottenham’s current combination of scoring just twice while conceding eight leaves almost no room for error.
Even one defensive mistake becomes difficult to recover from when the team is averaging less than half a goal per match.
Spurs have gone from one of their strongest attacks to one of their weakest
The decline becomes even clearer when Tottenham’s recent four-year trend is considered.
| Season | Goals after five | Change from previous season |
| 2023/24 | 13 | — |
| 2024/25 | 9 | -4 |
| 2025/26 | 10 | +1 |
| 2026/27 | 2 | -8 |
Tottenham have scored eight fewer goals after five matches than they had at the same stage last season.
Compared with 2023/24, the difference is 11 goals. That is a dramatic decline in a relatively short period.
The current return also means Spurs have scored fewer goals across their opening five league games than Richarlison managed individually at the same stage last season.
De Zerbi needs Tottenham’s forwards to start contributing
Five matches remains a small sample and there is still plenty of time for Tottenham’s attacking numbers to improve, but history shows that what Spurs are currently producing is far from normal.
Only the 2006/07 Tottenham side among the recent low-scoring examples matched the current total of two goals after five Premier League matches.
The 1992/93 and 2021/22 sides managed three. The struggling teams of 1996/97, 1998/99, 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2008/09 all scored four.
The current Spurs attack is operating at the very bottom end of what the club has produced during the Premier League era.
The fact that no recognised forward has scored makes the problem even more pressing.
Tottenham do not simply need to improve their chance creation. They need Solanke, Marmoush and the rest of De Zerbi’s attacking options to start turning opportunities into goals.
Until that happens, Tottenham will continue to place enormous pressure on a defence that has already conceded eight times.
After five matches, Tottenham’s two goals are not simply a disappointing start. They are historically poor.