Tottenham Hotspur’s troubled start to the Premier League season continued on Saturday as Newcastle United condemned them to a second successive defeat with a 2-0 victory in north London.
Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa struck in the second half to secure Newcastle’s first league win under new manager Matthias Jaissle and deepen the pressure on Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi.
After a goalless first half, Elanga broke the deadlock to put Newcastle ahead before Wissa doubled the visitors’ advantage and effectively ended Tottenham’s hopes of salvaging anything from the encounter.
Frustrated Tottenham supporters began streaming out of the stadium well before the final whistle as their expensively assembled side produced another uninspiring performance.
For Jaissle, the victory was an ideal response to his first Premier League outing, when Newcastle surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Liverpool. The German coach was appointed as Eddie Howe’s successor in a surprise move during the summer.
For De Zerbi, however, it was another chastening afternoon. Tottenham opened their campaign with an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Brentford and have now conceded five goals without scoring in their first two league matches.
The barren start means Tottenham have failed to score in their opening two league games of a season for the first time since 1992-93.
De Zerbi has overseen a major overhaul of the squad, with Tottenham spending more than £300 million during the close season after narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day of last season.
Omar Marmoush, who joined on loan from Manchester City this week, made his Tottenham debut but failed to provide the spark the hosts desperately needed.
The Egypt international struggled for regular impact during his time at City and was unable to make a difference against Newcastle, while another recent City arrival, Savio, missed the game with a muscular injury.
Tottenham’s 5-1 League Cup victory over Championship side Charlton Athletic in midweek had offered brief encouragement, but Saturday’s defeat exposed once again the problems facing De Zerbi’s expensively rebuilt team.
