Tottenham’s remarkable $400 million summer spending spree has yet to translate into success on the pitch, with Spurs suffering another defeat to leave them without a point or a goal after two Premier League matches.
Tottenham were beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle on Saturday, a week after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Brentford.
Five of Tottenham’s new signings started against Newcastle, including Sandro Tonali, whose every touch was booed by the visiting supporters following his $133 million move from Newcastle, and Omar Marmoush, whose loan move from Manchester City was only completed on Thursday.
However, the new arrivals struggled to make an impact as Tottenham were undone in the second half.
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, swivelling inside the penalty area before bending a shot against the post and into the net.
Yoane Wissa then doubled Newcastle’s lead in the 72nd minute with a clever close-range finish.
Spurs, who are coming off consecutive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, are one of three teams to have lost both of their opening matches.
With so many new players arriving during the summer, it appears Tottenham will need time to develop cohesion. Savio was also absent from Saturday’s squad because of a muscle injury.
Tottenham have not previously lost their opening two league matches without scoring since the 1974-75 season.
Liverpool rescued again by late equaliser
The Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool is yet to fully catch fire, but the Reds showed fighting spirit once again after needing a late goal to rescue a point.
For the second consecutive weekend, Liverpool came from behind to draw 2-2 in the Premier League, with summer signing Víctor Muñoz scoring in the 82nd minute against Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Liverpool had also drawn 2-2 in Iraola’s first league match in charge last week, when a stoppage-time penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai denied Newcastle a win.
There have been early teething problems under Iraola, particularly in defence, where Liverpool have continued to look shaky. However, they have also demonstrated a willingness to fight back.
Liverpool twice came from behind against Forest.
Dan Ndoye put the visitors ahead in the first half before Alexander Isak equalised for Liverpool in the 60th minute.
Morgan Gibbs-White then restored Forest’s lead from the penalty spot, but Muñoz levelled again when he ran onto a through-ball from Florian Wirtz and smashed his shot in off the crossbar.
The match was attended by Amit Bhatia, leader of an investor group that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The group has reached an agreement to buy a minority stake in Liverpool for a reported estimated $2.2 billion.
Bhatia posed for photographs with Liverpool owner John Henry on the pitch before the match.
The game was also preceded by news that Liverpool had agreed to a $166 million deal to sign Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.
Coventry’s return to top flight ends in disappointment
The CBS Arena became the Premier League’s latest new stadium as Coventry hosted a top-flight match for the first time since 2001, when the club was playing at Highfield Road.
However, the occasion proved disappointing for Frank Lampard’s team as Coventry lost 1-0 to fellow promoted side Hull.
Hull remain on a maximum six points after stunning Manchester United 2-0 at home last weekend.
Liam Miller scored the winner for Hull in the 82nd minute, giving the club another important victory after it had started the season as the big favourite for relegation.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth suffered another painful late concession.
James Tarkowski scored in the first minute of added time to earn Everton a 1-1 draw, a week after Bournemouth lost 2-1 at Manchester City after Josko Gvardiol scored in the same minute.
Everton remain unbeaten after opening their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Iliman Ndiaye started for Everton, with the winger reportedly attracting interest from Manchester City.
